I am an Early Career Physician Scientist and serve as Assistant Professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and a K12 Scholar at the Clinical Research and Learning Health Care Institute UT Health Houston. My long-term career goal is to become an independently funded investigator and leader in geriatric oncology to enhance patient centered care for older adults with cancer. My clinical and research activities reflect my overarching goal to perform high-quality, patient-centered research to optimize outcomes that matter the most to older adults with cancer. My research program is focused on optimizing outcomes that matter the most to older adults with breast cancer.
breast cancer, older adults, survivorship, patient centered care, patient priorities
Teaching
Teaching Overview
My teaching efforts were consistently mentioned in both the 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring Learning Environment Surveys from McGovern Medical School UT Houston students, who praised me for fostering a supportive learning atmosphere during their clinical clerkship rotation. I have been recognized both in 2023 and 2024 as a Champion of the Clinical Learning Environment. I am currently providing mentorship to 6 students interested in doing research in Geriatric Oncology.
Service
Outreach Overview
As a guest on Doug Pike's Fifty + at iHeartRadio, I had the opportunity to educate older adults on pancreatic cancer, diagnosis and management for older adults. I have designed a brochure for older cancer patients at UT Health Houston to inform them about the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial impact of cancer and cancer therapy and the importance of undergoing a comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify impairments in geriatric domains and a decrease in the overall quality of life. I am in the process of finalizing the design and plan to disseminate it to the Memorial Hermann Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. I have been engaged in sessions with The Community Scientist Group at MD Anderson, Houston, Texas where I received feedback on my research proposal from stakeholders and was also invited to discuss how their feedback impacted my research efforts.
