Akinyemiju, Garman, and Zani Receive Faculty Awards
Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD: Michelle P. Winn Inclusive Excellence Award
Social and molecular cancer epidemiologist Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD, associate director of the Duke Cancer Institute Community Outreach, Engagement, and Equity (COEE) program, is one of four recipients of a 2023 Michelle P. Winn Inclusive Excellence Award from the Duke University School of Medicine.
Akinyemiju is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and associate research professor of Global Health, Duke Global Health Institute. She is also an instructor in the Duke Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Science Departments.
The Michelle P. Winn Inclusive Excellence Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to diversity and inclusion within the School of Medicine community. Nominees should exemplify excellence, innovation, and leadership in helping to create a more diverse and inclusive environment.
Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD, (right), joined colleagues at an Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) event. ELAM prepares senior women faculty at schools of medicine, dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and hospital systems for institutional leadership positions.
Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD (left) and Rebecca Previs, MD (right) have published studies documenting that gynecologic cancer patients who are Black or Hispanic are less likely to receive care that adheres to national guidelines and therefore experience worse outcomes. “Dr. Akinyemiju has helped me think about the multi-dimensionality of these issues and how we have to work together to overcome them,” Previs said. “It’s complex, unique to each patient and her cancer journey, and certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach.” WATCH: Closing A Racial Divide in Cancer Care.
Akinyemiju's research focus is on identifying the impact of social (such as access to healthcare) and biological factors (such as metabolic dysregulation), on cancer-related risk, tumor aggressiveness, and survival.
She has a specific interest in understanding the causes of cancer disparities among women of African descent in the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, given their significantly higher risk of aggressive cancer subtypes relative to other racial groups.
In addition to her "commitment to reducing disparities within cancer research," Akinyemiju garnered the Winn Award for "her commitments to improving EDI policy and resources and to mentorship."
Katherine Garman, MD, MHS: Mentoring Excellence Award in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Molecular Physiology Institute member Katherine Garman, MD, MHS, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Population Health Sciences, is one of two faculty to receive the Duke University School of Medicine "Mentoring Excellence Award in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion." (Assistant Professor of Surgery Lisa McElroy, MD, MS, is also a recipient)
This award recognizes faculty members for excellence in research mentoring, which, according to the School, "can be demonstrated in many ways, such as by the accomplishments of individual mentees, by programs implemented by the mentor, or by exceptional creativity in mentoring."
Garman co-leads the DCI Cancer Risk, Detection, and Interception Research Program (a National Cancer Institute-designated research program) with DCI epidemiologist Meira Epplein, PhD, and directs the Garman Lab, which is focused on translational research into injury, repair, and cancer development in the gastrointestinal tract.
In December 2022, Garman's mentee — fourth-year medical student Priya Alagesan, BS — was awarded top abstract of the DCI Scientific Retreat in the DCI Cancer Risk, Detection and Interception Research Program (CRDI) and named the recipient of the DCI Robert and Barbara Bell Basic Science Cancer Research Award. Alagesan's study — “Examining CXCL8 Expression in Gastric Organoid Models for Gastric Cancer Interception" — looked at the molecular drivers of gastric cancer, and potential strategies for both treating it and stopping its development before it starts. The lab has used these models to better understand the molecular pathways involved in esophageal damage and repair. This research is part of the gastric cancer disparities subproject (led by Garman and Epplein) of the NCl-funded DCI study investigating the social and molecular drivers of health disparities in stomach and lung cancer.
The Garman Lab is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and has collaborations with the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Garman herself is a member of The Cancer Genome Atlas Project (TCGA) Stomach/Esophageal working group As PI of Duke's Gastrointestinal Tissue Repository (Garman, PI), she has facilitated Duke contributions of patient tissue samples to this working group.
Sabino Zani, Jr., MD
Duke Cancer Institute surgical oncologist Sabino Zani Jr., MD, an associate professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, is one of four faculty to receive the Duke University School of Medicine "Master Clinician/Teacher Award."
This award — for accomplishment and service in the area of teaching in the School of Medicine or Medical Center — honors faculty who have made an extraordinary commitment to teaching and students.
Sabino Zani, MD, at work, courtesy Duke Department of Surgery
The Fellowship — dual certification — allows fellows training at Duke in Complex General Surgical Oncology (CGSO) to pursue additional specialty certification in HPB. Duke is one of just a handful of CGSO fellowships to offer this dual certification.
In addition, Zani is co-principal investigator with Leila Bridgeman, PhD, MSc, and Patrick Codd, MD, (Brian Mann, DSc is the principal investigator) of a five-year $3 million National Science Foundation grant (2021-2026) to train Masters and PhD students in the interdisciplinary fields of engineering, computer science, data science, and surgical technologies. (NRT-FW-HTF: NSF Traineeship in the Advancement of Surgical Technologies)
The project anticipates training a total of 230 students, including 30 NRT-funded trainees from Engineering, Computer Science, Math, Science and Society, and Statistics.
The traineeship is designed to "provide a new research and training framework for engineering and computer science graduate students to access other disciplines and thereby design advanced surgical technologies that integrate medical provider, societal, end-user, and patient needs throughout development and testing."
Related News
In August 2023, a team of volunteers led by Trinitia Cannon, MD (third from left), Leda Scearce, CCC-SLP, MM, MS, and Dina Abouelella, MPH, which also included Tammara Watts, MD, PhD (center) and Katharine Ciarrocca, DMD, MSEd, partnered with North Raleigh International Baptist Church and Duke Raleigh Hospital to offer head and neck cancer screenings. Dozens of families from the Cedar Creek Apartment Complex community came out for the free screenings, education, and games, and Duke Raleigh Hospital donated backpacks full of school supplies.
TheDuke University School of Medicine Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences (HNS&CS) recently launched Project CHECKERS (Community Head and NEck Cancer Knowledge, Engagement, Research and Screening) a Duke Cancer Institute-funded pilot project to bring head and neck cancer resources and education to the broader Durham community.
Led by DCI head and neck surgeon Trinitia Cannon, MD, an associate professor in the Department, the project will be the Department’s first community-based participatory research project and the first such head and neck cancer screening and cancer prevention education project in North Carolina.
Evolving Community Research
The Project CHECKERS team will use a mixed methodology, which includes traditional surveys and screenings as well as interviews and focus groups.
One of their community partners will be the Cedar Creek Apartment Complex community in North Raleigh. Many of these families are refugees — from at least seven different countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East — who speak Farsi, French, Swahili, Arabic, and other languages. They are building new lives in North Carolina, in a culture and language that is new to many of them. As is the case with many similar communities, their healthcare needs often go unmet.
The investigators believe that, compared to traditional methods, mixed-method research is an improved way to establish a community partnership, highlight gaps in the community’s knowledge and risk perception, and pave the way for successful future health interventions.
According to co-PI Nosayaba (Nosa) Osazuwa-Peters, BDS, MPH, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Project CHECKERS takes an important step in improving community engagement.
“Traditional research is very systematic, very top-down. The researchers have knowledge and decide what they believe the community needs. But these outside scientific experts do not know the values, the culture, the knowledge, or the risks inherent in that community,” he explained.
For example, traditional surveys restrict participants to answering either yes or no; for many people, that binary does not tell a complete story.
“Project CHECKERS will help us understand the lived experiences of people in these communities,” added Osazuwa-Peters. “We’ll learn about context, and we’ll learn to ask questions that allow community members to express themselves. We’ll get responses we would never get based on yes or no.”
Building a Partnership
Project CHECKERS kicked off this fall with focus groups and interviews with community members facilitated by Laura Fish, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University School of Medicine, and program director for the Behavioral Health and Survey Research Core (a DCI shared resource). An advisory board will provide feedback from both clinical and community perspectives.
Lessons learned from these conversations will help the team develop a knowledge and risk factor survey that will be administered during two head and neck cancer screening events with the community in 2024.
The CHECKERS team will also recruit providers outside the department to participate in these events to address other health concerns in the community such as primary care, mental health, and women’s health.
The long-term goal of Project CHECKERS is to show the benefits of tailoring head and neck cancer screening programs to the communities being served, and how that personalization can improve prevention, early detection, and overall survival in high-risk individuals who have limited access to care.
Noted Osazuwa-Peters, “The mixed-methods framework helps us understand not just whether an intervention works, but how, why, and for whom.”
Community Partners
Another plus to mixed-methods research is its appeal to community partners who might otherwise be hesitant to work with researchers.
“The design places a high value on the stories behind the numbers,” explained Cannon, “so these projects are especially attractive to community partners such as faith-based organizations, whose priority is improving practice and outcomes, more so than research and advancing knowledge.”
Project CHECKERS will provide a valuable bridge between Duke and the North Raleigh International Baptist Church (NRIBC), which ministers to a large immigrant community. NRIBC’s Pastor, Patrick Warutere, invited Duke to participate in the church’s inaugural Health and Dignity for All Fair in Raleigh in 2022. Cannon and CHECKERS co-PI Leda Searce,CCC-SLP, MM, MS, a Duke speech pathologist, recruited nurses, medical students, and resident volunteers to provide HNC screenings for the event.
“We immediately felt a kinship with NRIBC’s Pastor Patrick Warutere and his leadership team,” shared Searce. “By the end of the day, we knew we wanted to continue to work together and set up a meeting the following week.”
Duke HNS&CS and the NRIBC team worked closely to develop the research plan and ensure that the goals and expectations of each group were aligned and transparent.
“That relationship with NRIBC has enabled us to incorporate the community’s perspectives into the development of Project CHECKERS,” said Searce. “Our aim was to amplify the assets and expertise of the community members themselves.”
Cannon anticipates that Project CHECKERS will become a framework for future projects.
“We are looking forward to similar initiatives in hearing health for older adults, right-hemisphere stroke awareness, and more.”
Breast surgical oncologist and Mary and Deryl Hart Distinguished Professor of Surgery Eun-Sil Shelley Hwang, MD, MHS, with Oluwadamilola "Lola" Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, in early 2020.
Dr. Hwang was Chief of Breast Surgery at Duke at that time and Dr. Fayanju was an assistant professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Fayanju is currently Chief of the Breast Surgery Division at Penn Medicine.
A study initiated at Duke University School of Medicine lays bare significant racial and gender disparities in America’s surgical leadership.
Of the 2,165 faculty members included across 154 departments, men overwhelmingly claimed the top spots in surgical leadership, making up 85.9% of department chairs, 68.4% of vice chairs, and a staggering 87% of division chiefs.
What’s more a mere 8.9% of these leadership roles were filled by those from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.
While women made a modest showing as vice chairs at 31.6%, they remained underrepresented elsewhere. Many of these women and those from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups were clustered in roles linked to diversity and faculty development, which might not pave the way to top department positions.
The study in JAMA Surgery — led by Oluwadamilola “Lola” M. Fayanju, MD — stands out because the research team of surgeons, trainees, and biostatisticians looked in detail at different leadership roles and the implications these disparities have for the pipeline to department chair.
CONTINUE READING at the Duke University School of Medicine Newsroom
