Black in Cancer

The first United States “Black in Cancer” meeting was held at the NIH Natcher Conference Center on June 20 through June 21, 2024. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research co-hosted this conference with the United Kingdom (UK) not-for-profit Black in Cancer, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research UK, and many dedicated sponsors and supporters, including Leidos and Leidos Biomedical Research (LBR). This Conference had 350 registrants and 50 speakers who traveled from near and far to participate. The latest findings in cancer health disparity and cancer equity were presented at oral sessions and poster presentations. We had nearly 50 volunteers from LBR, Care First, and Bowie State University (an HBCU). I am pictured here standing beside Dr. Sigourney Bonner, CEO of Black in Cancer. We are grateful to Dr. Bonner, her team, and our co-organizers for making this conference so memorable. The next conference will be facilitated by Cancer Research UK.

I am pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Johnson & Johnson Scholars of Oncology Diversity Engagement Program (SODEP)! We are seeking to provide industry exposure and mentorship to PhD, MD/PhD, PharmD, or post-doctoral fellow students interested in oncology (or other closely related fields). For more information, please see flyer and visit www.jnjsdep.com by Aug 30th to apply! Thanks again to my amazing team and our continued senior level sponsorship for ushering us towards our 4th cohort of scholars! Looking forward to continued impact on the next generation of oncology researchers and further shaping the culture at J&J! #mycompany #DEI #oncology #SODEP

The Black in Cancer (BiC) Conference 2024 in partnership with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research themed “Lifting As We Climb” was simply amazing! The conference featured an array of inspiring talks by scientists, epidemiologists, oncologists, and a psychologist!! Dr John Carpten, Ph.D. and Dr Melissa Boneta Davis, Ph.D. delivered phenomenal keynote presentations, embodying integrity, creativity, vulnerability, and groundbreaking science. I’m truly honoured to have served on the scientific committee, co-hosted a fantastic lunchtime panel discussion with Mamadou A. Bah on ‘Careers in Cancer Research & Medicine’ (shout out to our esteemed panel Cornelius Taabazuing, Ph.D., Elizabeth McKenna, Ph.D., Jerry M., and Kwame Osei-Sarfo, Ph.D.), and moderated the ‘PhD Pitches’ session (congratulations Shamara Lawrence). The cherry on top was spending quality time with the BiC board and connecting with past and present participants of the Black in Cancer Mentorship Program (Mia Rivers, Melville Nyatondo, Teffanie Maramba, Bismark Acquah MS., and Asia Almarales I’m so proud of you). I feel inspired, connected, and eager to drive change. Sigourney Bonner, Ph.D. keep running with that vision! Crystal Canja you are a gift - thank you for all you do seen and unseen! Elayne Smith Lowe you are amazing - thank you for going above and beyond. To the rest of the BiC board (Elshaddai White, PhD, Tumie Ntereke, Ph.D., Henry J. Henderson III, Ph.D., Jordan Bonner, Mamadou A. Bah, Briana White) and various volunteers - thank you! I'm already looking forward to the next one! #BiCconf24

Congratulations to Black in Cancer and Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research who put on the excellent 2024 Black in Cancer conference over two days last week, inspiring 200+ oncologists, cancer researchers, students, patient advocates and funders to get out of their comfort zones to enact change.   A prominent theme across the conference was the need to improve the diversity of clinical trials through patient and public involvement and further investigate the biological and social factors contributing to the higher mortality rate in Black cancer patients. We must continue to foster and engage with communities to improve both the quality of our research and health outcomes in the Black community.   A highlight of the event was the keynote address from Melissa Boneta Davis, lead of Cancer Grand Challenges team SAMBAI who are doing some pioneering work utilising quantified ancestry to unravel genetic vs. environmental influences in tumour biology among race/ethnic groups, including epigenetic cell signalling and immunological responses in the tumour microenvironment and systemic immune regulation.   It was fantastic to also see the great #CRUKFunded research presented by PhD students Adesewa Adebisi (Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute) Joanne Oke (Manchester Cancer Research Centre) and Sarah Williams (Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute) and our travel bursary recipients.   See more updates from the conference using #BiCconf24

So incredibly proud of Black in Cancer Mentorship Program (BiCMP) alumni Melville Nyatondo who presented a poster giving an overview of BiCMP at #BiCconf24. 📌FYI, we'll be taking applications for BiCMP 2024/25 soon so keep an eye out for the announcement!

Like many other attendees I find myself at loss for words in describing the experience I had this past week at the Black in Cancer conference in partnership with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, the first in the U.S. The theme was “Lifting as We Climb” an homage to Mary Church Terrell, a major figure in the early civil rights movement. A fitting theme to reflect on as we are in the midst of growing anti-DEI initiatives. Among so many inspirations, I was reminded about the importance of creating opportunities and spaces to uplift others as I moderated the session on ‘Mentorship in Motion’. Dr. Lucile Adams-Campbell, Dr. Carla Williams, and Dr. Madison Moore, who represent three generations of successful mentoring, delve into their experience of mentorship and offered words of wisdom in navigating it both as mentees and mentors. The #BICConf24 had such an impressive line up with speakers like Dr. John Carpten, Dr. Melissa Boneta Davis, Dr. Rob Winn, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Dr. Kimryn Rathmell and so many others too long to list. More importantly, a special shout out to the fearless leader of Black in Cancer Dr. Sigourney Bonner and the rest of the Black in Cancer Board who have become more like family Henry J. Henderson III, Ph.D. Elshaddai White, PhD Julia Morris, PhD Briana White Tumie Ntereke Jordan Bonner. I’d be remissed not to thank Crystal Canja and her team for their tireless effort in helping make this a reality and to our sponsors for their generous funds and all 300+ attendees who embodied the concept of community.

It was an absolute honor to speak at the Black in Cancer Conference - Kimryn Rathmell American Cancer Society Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute (NCI) #Cancer #NCI #bicconf24 #OncoDaily #Oncology

Before I return to my regularly scheduled HBCU programming, I want to say that I'm SO proud of my Bowie State University volunteers! They all did an amazing job, and it was inspiring to see the students make the most of the Black in Cancer Conference. Thank you to Jordan Bonner, Elayne Smith Lowe, and Lily Milliner for coordinating! This BSU Cohort is funded through the The National Institutes of Health Scientific Research Preparatory Program grant and supplemented by our partners at AFCEA Bethesda. If you would like the opportunity to host or share your science with our students (on-site or virtual) in any capacity this summer, please reach out to me or Dr. Chimdimnma Esimai, CURE Program Coordinator at cesimai@bowiestate.edu.

Some of the highlights from the Black in Cancer #BICConf24 in Bethesda, MD hosted at NIH campus. The building was packed with Black and African cancer researchers, who were all excited for the conversations around treatment strategies, health disparaties, and novel methods to target cancers. We started off with an inspiring talk by Dr. Sadhana Jackson, where she described the challenges of cancer drugs crossing the blood brain barrier and the importance of pharmacokinetic sampling to determine the distribution of these drugs throughout different brain regions. I would like to congratulate the organizers for assembling a line-up of inspirational leaders and creating an immersive environment to share ideas and perspectives. Elshaddai White, PhD, Crystal Canja, and Sigourney Bonner. I got to catch up with my fellow labmate Brandon McClellan, who will be defending in the coming months with a PhD in Immunology. His momentual contributions to our understanding of T cell biology within the tumor microenvironment of IDH1-mutant glioma will be an exceptional asset in his next career journey. I was a recruiter at this event and got the opportunity to share information about our postdoctoral program Invent@SC, Seattle Children's. I had the chance to chat with other young inspiring researchers and share my path through the PhD to postdoc. Kaitlin White Ebube Emuka Destiny Van jessica pougoue ketchemen

On May 10th, 2024 I graduated from the University of Miami with BS Biology and minors in Microbiology/Immunology and Global Health Studies. June 5th, 2024 I was selected by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to receive a Postbaccalaureate NIH Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellowship in cancer metastasis. I am grateful for my mentors that has guided me throughout undergraduate education at the University of Miami and now as an incoming NIH postbac fellow. On June 20-21st, 2024 I attended the second in-person Black in Cancer Conference in Bethesda, MD at the National Institute of Health (NIH). I was selected as a travel award recipient to attend and had the opportunity to connect with brilliant scientists! The presentations diversified from African ancestry of specific tumor phenotypes to diversity in clinical trials, inclusion in cancer genetics research and the rationale of using genomics in racial disparities. The BiC community has empowered and inspired me within my career in science. I am excited for my future research endeavors and next steps. #BICconf24 #NIH