Sylvester Visit Cements Partnerships with Nigerian Colleagues
This summer, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center physician-scientists Sophia George, Ph.D., and Matthew Schlumbrecht, M.D., visited the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and other sites in Nigeria, to advance genomic research and medical education.
“There were two components to this trip,” said Dr. George, associate professor in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. “One was setting up collection sites for the African-Caribbean Single Cell (sc) Network, which is gathering genetic samples from people of African descent to investigate the genetic drivers behind breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. In the other piece, Dr. Schlumbrecht was providing in-depth training for Nigerian gynecologic oncology fellows.”
The African-Caribbean scNetwork
Dr. George and colleagues at Sylvester recently received $1.65 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation to support the African-Caribbean scNetwork, a component of the African Caribbean Cancer Consortium and the TransAtlantic Gynecologic Cancer Research Consortium.
Until recently, genomic research had been heavily weighted towards people of European descent. The African-Caribbean scNetwork seeks to diversify this work and identify genetic variants that may be unique to people of African descent and improve cancer outcomes.
When the Sylvester team arrived, they found that their Nigerian counterparts had tremendous enthusiasm for this project.
“Our intent was to launch at two sites,” said Dr. George. “But we were invited to expand the study across northeast Nigeria to five sites. We ended up meeting additional colleagues, collaborators, students, fellows and residents, attending gynecologists, urologists, surgeons and leadership.”
Fellowship Training
While Dr. George was helping Nigerian researchers set up their collection and analysis infrastructure, Dr. Schlumbrecht was training gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists at a five-day conference at LUTH.
Sponsored by the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS), the two-year fellowship program will provide in-depth gynecologic oncology training for physicians in Lagos and Zaria in northern Nigeria. Dr. Schlumbrecht is a member of the IGCS Global Curriculum Committee, which trains gynecologic oncologists around the world, and will serve at the international mentor for Lagos and Zaria.
“There is a dearth of fellowship-trained gynecologic oncology specialists in the world, so the IGCS has created this comprehensive curriculum to help remedy that,” said Dr. Schlumbrecht, professor in the in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. “But we also need to customize that curriculum to each site, and that was part of our visit.”
During the conference, Dr. Schlumbrecht led seminars on surgical anatomy, triaging patients for chemotherapy, novel approaches to cervical cancer, and many other topics. These discussions will continue through monthly tumor boards, conducted remotely, and other meetings.
“One of the great things about Dr. George’s Chan Zuckerberg funding is that her research colleagues also work with me to advance education,” said Dr. Schlumbrecht. “As a result, we can intertwine the two, teaching the junior fellows how to be research clinicians, as well as taking care of patients.”
The Nigerian fellows will also travel to the University of Miami to gain hands-on experience in a variety of disciplines.
“During their three-month observerships, they will gain experience in genetics, palliative care, pathology, and radiology,” said Dr. Schlumbrecht. “They will spend time with me and my colleagues to see what it’s like at an academic institution in the United States and how we’ve built our program, so they can translate that back to their home institutions.”
Tags: African Caribbean Cancer Consortium, African-Caribbean Single Cell (sc) Network, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Dr. Matthew Schlumbrecht, Dr. Sophia George, International Gynecologic Cancer Society, Miller School of Medicine, Obstetrics and gynecology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, TransAtlantic Gynecologic Cancer Research Consortium