What Is the Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma Mentoring Program?

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) has partnered with the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute’s Cobb Scholars Program to develop a mentoring program for African American medical school students.

Pairing passion with expertise, the program’s mission is to mentor the next generation of myeloma experts by:

• • Increasing the pool of African American physicians dedicated to myeloma health equity
  • Raising myeloma awareness among medical students, with a focus on its impact on African Americans
  • Supporting innovative health disparities projects in myeloma
  • Providing mentorship with myeloma experts
  • Creating a supportive community of mentors and mentees

Twelve students, several of whom are from Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU), have been paired with 12 myeloma experts who are dedicated to health equity. Together, they are conducting 12 projects in health disparities in myeloma. These projects will be presented as posters at the Annual Meeting of the National Medical Association, which will take place in New Orleans in July 2023.

Spearheading the scholars’ program is IMF Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Mikhael, who leads the IMF’s M-Power Project. As brand-new program launched by the IMF in collaboration with the National Medical Association and the W. Montague Cobb Institute (their research arm), the Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma Mentoring Program pairs medical students of minority backgrounds with myeloma experts to conduct research on health disparities for six months.

Its objectives include:

• • educating individuals from minority communities about multiple myeloma,
  • engaging those communities at the earliest level of their training to gain a deeper understanding of the disease, and
  • improving sensitivities toward diagnosis, as well as disparities in myeloma and patient care.

The hope is these medical students can take this knowledge with them, whether they choose to become a myeloma expert, or to pursue a different discipline.

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Who Are the Program’s Inaugural Mentees and Mentors?

These passionate students along with their dedicated mentors are creating a brighter future for health equity in myeloma care.  Each medical student is already working one-on-one and closely with a mentor, gaining skills in research while seeking to provide solutions to the vast health disparity in myeloma.

From over 50 applicants for the program, 12 individuals were chosen by the Selection Committee. The student-mentor pairs are as follows:

Racquel Innis-Shelton, MD
Alabama Oncology
Birmingham, AL

Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP
Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University
Birmingham, AL

Sikander Ailwadhi, MD
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL

Brandon J. Blue, MD
Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, FL

Ben Derman, MD
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

Craig Emmitt Cole, MD
Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint
Flint, MI

Manisha Bhutani, MD
Atrium Health Levine Cancer Center
Charlotte, NC

Sandrine Niyongere, MD
University of Maryland
College Park, MD

Tondre Buck, MD
Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute
Spartansburg, SC

Jeffrey Zonder, MD
Karmanos Cancer Center
Detroit, MI

Saad Usmani, MD, MBA, FACP
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

What Are the Next Steps for the Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma Program?

Scholars will participate in a health disparities project focused on multiple myeloma with each student working closely one-on-one with a mentor myeloma expert. Mentees will meet regularly with their mentors to complete their respective projects.

The IMF will collaborate with the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute in planning the poster and networking sessions during the Annual Meeting of the National Medical Association (NMA) in July 2023.

Students and mentors will be attending the annual meeting to present their research, with a networking reception bringing together members of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), W. Montague Cobb /NMA Institute, and the NMA.

Participants are expected to complete the Post-Program Assessment by August 2023. 

Made possible with support from Janssen and Pfizer