Wright Center researchers featured for Global Diversity Awareness Month
VCU Health featured two VCU researchers, both serving in community engagement roles at the Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, for October’s Global Diversity Awareness Month.
“Diversity matters in health care because it drives innovation,” said Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., whose work is informed by bioinformatics and community-engaged research.
Tossas, the director of catchment area data alignment in the Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research at VCU Massey Cancer Center, describes her life experiences, challenges she faced along the way, and how she finds ways forward.
“Pain, anger, outrage can be valuable fuels when put to good use,” she told VCU Health. “They are otherwise as a good mentor of mine says ‘uncoupled mitochondrial reactions’ that generate a lot of heat with no consequence. Use your fuel purposefully.”
Read Tossas’ story.
Patrick Nana-Sinkam, M.D., associate director for KL2 Career Development and Mentoring at the Wright Center, speaks to his life and career – from dreams of being a filmmaker to finding his calling in the personal connection that doctors form with their patients.
“It dawned on me that medicine is one of the few vocations where you develop this unique relationship with people,” he said. “Someone instills their trust in you, shares some of the most intimate details of their lives. They place their health in your hands.”
Nana-Sinkam, also a member of Massey’s Cancer Prevention and Control research program, spoke about diversity in medical research and his extensive experience mentoring young physicians and researchers.
“What I tell my mentees, particularly the younger ones, is: ‘You have a unique opportunity to take the lead at a time where we need more leaders.’ And I’m not talking about political leaders necessarily. I’m talking about leaders in medicine. You can lead, regardless of what your title is. You don’t have to have four different degrees, and you don’t have to have salt and pepper hair. You can lead in your own way.”