Akinyemiju, Garman, and Zani Receive Faculty Awards
Updated
Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD
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."
Charlotte-area resident Vickie Johnson, 72, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 after seeking care twice for abdominal pain. First, she was diagnosed with appendicitis and had her appendix out. Then, when her pain persisted beyond the recovery period, she received a new diagnosis. A scan at the ER showed a possible tumor. She went back to her appendix surgeon, had the mass in her colon removed, and was referred to a hospital oncologist. He referred her to a second surgeon who performed an even more aggressive surgery to remove all the remaining cancer in her colon and got her started on chemotherapy.Unfortunately, after each chemotherapy infusion she experienced severe chest pain. As she described it, “terrible spasms like I was having a heart attack.” Her oncologist didn’t have a plan b. “Finally, he said ‘I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. We'll just test your blood every so often and get a scan every six months,’” Johnson shared. She wasn’t ready to give up, and as it turned out she didn’t need to.Johnson’s next area oncologist — Justin Favaro, MD, PhD — who'd done his medical training at Duke, brought a cardio-oncologist onboard the care team. The two providers tweaked the chemotherapy regimen she’d been on with the first oncologist; adjusting the dosage so her heart would be able to tolerate it. That worked, but successive treatments didn’t make any headway against her cancer.Johnson had begun 2019 in treatment for newly diagnosed colon cancer and ended that year with the death of her husband and progression of her cancer. During 2020, she’d endured another chemotherapy regimen but with no success. Cancer metastases remained in her liver and her lungs.Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have progressed on standard chemotherapy receive limited benefit from the available standard of care options. Johnson had genomic testing done and it turned out her cancer was hardwired with a KRAS G12C mutation, an alteration found in 3 to 4% of all metastatic colorectal cancer cases. Favaro said there was one more option.In the summer of 2021, he referred Johnson for enrollment in CodeBreaK 101, an early-stage clinical trial (phase 1b/2) at Duke Cancer Institute testing a new approach to treating KRAS G12C-mutated solid tumor cancers — a new KRAS G12C inhibitor drug (sotorasib) in combination with other anti-cancer therapies of choice, including FDA-approved antibodies, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy drugs. DCI was one of the first institutions worldwide to open this trial, which had launched in December 2019.Duke Cancer Institute GI medical oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine John Strickler, MD, was Duke site principal investigator. Strickler is a colon cancer specialist who co-leads the DCI Precision Cancer Medicine and Investigational Therapeutics Research Program and the Molecular Tumor Board.Johnson said she had “no hesitation” about her decision and was grateful when she qualified for recruitment to the study under the care of Strickler.“This was the option. Nothing else was working,” Johnson recalled.
Charlotte-area resident Vickie Johnson, 72, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 after seeking care twice for abdominal pain. First, she was diagnosed with appendicitis and had her appendix out. Then, when her pain persisted beyond the recovery period, she received a new diagnosis. A scan at the ER showed a possible tumor. She went back to her appendix surgeon, had the mass in her colon removed, and was referred to a hospital oncologist. He referred her to a second surgeon who performed an even more aggressive surgery to remove all the remaining cancer in her colon and got her started on chemotherapy.Unfortunately, after each chemotherapy infusion she experienced severe chest pain. As she described it, “terrible spasms like I was having a heart attack.” Her oncologist didn’t have a plan b. “Finally, he said ‘I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. We'll just test your blood every so often and get a scan every six months,’” Johnson shared. She wasn’t ready to give up, and as it turned out she didn’t need to.Johnson’s next area oncologist — Justin Favaro, MD, PhD — who'd done his medical training at Duke, brought a cardio-oncologist onboard the care team. The two providers tweaked the chemotherapy regimen she’d been on with the first oncologist; adjusting the dosage so her heart would be able to tolerate it. That worked, but successive treatments didn’t make any headway against her cancer.Johnson had begun 2019 in treatment for newly diagnosed colon cancer and ended that year with the death of her husband and progression of her cancer. During 2020, she’d endured another chemotherapy regimen but with no success. Cancer metastases remained in her liver and her lungs.Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have progressed on standard chemotherapy receive limited benefit from the available standard of care options. Johnson had genomic testing done and it turned out her cancer was hardwired with a KRAS G12C mutation, an alteration found in 3 to 4% of all metastatic colorectal cancer cases. Favaro said there was one more option.In the summer of 2021, he referred Johnson for enrollment in CodeBreaK 101, an early-stage clinical trial (phase 1b/2) at Duke Cancer Institute testing a new approach to treating KRAS G12C-mutated solid tumor cancers — a new KRAS G12C inhibitor drug (sotorasib) in combination with other anti-cancer therapies of choice, including FDA-approved antibodies, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy drugs. DCI was one of the first institutions worldwide to open this trial, which had launched in December 2019.Duke Cancer Institute GI medical oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine John Strickler, MD, was Duke site principal investigator. Strickler is a colon cancer specialist who co-leads the DCI Precision Cancer Medicine and Investigational Therapeutics Research Program and the Molecular Tumor Board.Johnson said she had “no hesitation” about her decision and was grateful when she qualified for recruitment to the study under the care of Strickler.“This was the option. Nothing else was working,” Johnson recalled.
