Corning and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Announce Health Equity Fellowship to Explore Disparities in Cancer Outcomes
April 13 2023 - 8:00AM
Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) and Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced today that Dr.
Francisco Sanchez-Vega, Ph.D., has been awarded the Corning-MSK
Health Equity Research Fellowship, a two-year grant that funds
research into the broad disparities in cancer outcomes for patients
in historically underserved communities.
Sponsored by Corning’s Office of Racial Equality
and Social Unity (ORESU), the fellowship will allow Dr.
Sanchez-Vega, an assistant attending computational oncologist in
MSK’s Colorectal Cancer Service in the Department of Surgery, to
research the genomic, clinical, and socioeconomic causes behind the
disproportionately negative outcomes of colorectal cancer in Black
communities across the United States.
According to Dr. Carol Brown, M.D., F.A.C.S., Senior Vice
President and Chief Health Equity Officer at MSK, dedicated funding
is essential to understanding cancer-outcome disparities and how
the medical community can address them. These funding opportunities
are also critical for developing clinician-scientists who are early
in their careers – and for ensuring that they continue their
careers in the medical field.
“This funding will allow Dr. Sanchez-Vega to explore some of the
factors behind the higher colorectal cancer incidence and mortality
rates experienced by the Black community, and his findings will
help identify effective interventions to overcome these disparities
and advance health equity in cancer care,” said Dr. Brown. “With
the right science, the right social support, and the right tools,
we can improve people’s lives and health.”
“I am honored to be selected for the Corning-MSK Health Equity
Research Fellowship,” said Dr. Sanchez-Vega. “Colorectal cancer
disproportionally affects the Black community, and this research
grant will help us identify opportunities to intervene and close
the gap in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality that has
impacted this community for decades.”
Since its inception in 2020, Corning’s ORESU has partnered with
organizations to find sustainable solutions that address
disparities for those who have been institutionally disadvantaged.
The fellowship provides an opportunity for Corning to extend its
long-standing relationship with MSK’s world-class cancer center
through MSK’s Office of Health Equity.
“ORESU’s healthcare initiative is built on the idea that
communities are healthy when people receive quality healthcare they
can trust,” said Dr. Millicent Ruffin, director, ORESU Community
Affairs. “This grant directly enables research that will help
provide quality healthcare to Black Americans by discovering
barriers – and solutions – to these disparities and by making
access to quality healthcare available for those who need it.”
“We’re very excited to work with MSK to address this critical
need for health equity research,” said Dr. Michael Lappi, chief
medical officer at Corning. “The medical community does not fully
understand the factors that explain why historically
underrepresented populations have higher incidences of cancer.
Sponsoring this research draws attention to these disparities, and
we hope its findings will also save lives.”
Bio and background about the recipient: Dr.
Francisco Sanchez-Vega, Ph.D., is an assistant attending
computational oncologist in the Colorectal Cancer Service of MSK’s
Department of Surgery. He is also a faculty member in the
Computational Oncology Service in the Department of Epidemiology
and Biostatistics. A native of Spain, Sanchez-Vega joined MSK as a
post-doctoral researcher in 2015. He has been the head of
Computational Biology in MSK’s Colorectal Cancer Research Center
since 2019.
Dr. Sanchez-Vega will use the Corning-MSK Health Equity Research
Fellowship to examine the genomic, clinical, and socioeconomic
causes of disproportionally negative outcomes of colorectal cancer
in Black patients in the United States.
Dr. Sanchez-Vega holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and
statistics from The Johns Hopkins University.
Members of the Corning-MSK Health Equity Research Fellowship
selection committee included:
- Dr. Michael Lappi, D.O., Ph.D., F.A.C.O.E.M.,
Chief Medical Officer, Corning Incorporated
- Dr. Kia
Swan-Moore,
M.D., Associate Chief Medical Officer, Corning
Incorporated
- Dr. Millicent Ruffin, Ph.D.,
Director, Community Affairs, ORESU, Corning Incorporated
- Dr. Carol Brown,
M.D.,
F.A.C.S., Senior Vice President, Chief Health Equity
Officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Dr. Michelle Johnson, M.D.,
M.P.H., Vice Chair of Health Equity, Department of
Medicine and Director of Clinical Cardiology, Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center
- Dr. Tanya Trippett,
M.D., pediatric hematologic oncologist, Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center
- Dr. Anthony
Daniyan, M.D.,
medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Dr. Michael Tuttle, M.D., Chief of the
Endocrinology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
About Corning IncorporatedCorning
(www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in
materials science, with a 170-year track record of life-changing
inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass
science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep
manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop
category-defining products that transform industries and enhance
people’s lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in
RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation,
and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global
leaders in their industries. Corning’s capabilities are versatile
and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet
changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new
opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning’s markets
include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics,
display, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences.
About Memorial Sloak Kettering Cancer CenterThe
people of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) are united
by a singular mission: ending cancer for life. Our specialized care
teams provide personalized, compassionate, expert care to patients
of all ages. Informed by basic research done at our Sloan Kettering
Institute, scientists across MSK collaborate to conduct innovative
translational and clinical research that is driving a revolution in
our understanding of cancer as a disease and improving the ability
to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. MSK is dedicated to training
the next generation of scientists and clinicians, who go on to
pursue our mission at MSK and around the globe. One of the world’s
most respected comprehensive centers devoted exclusively to cancer,
we have been recognized as one of the top two cancer hospitals in
the country by U.S. News & World Report for more than
30 years. www.mskcc.org
Corning Media Relations
Contact: Meredith
Hoing (202)
774-0799 hoingmj@corning.com
MSK Media Relations
Contact:Annik AllenAllena5@mskcc.org
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