Educating the next generation of cancer researchers
Growing up in the West African nation of Benin, Ese-Onosen Omoijuanfo nurtured a passion for medicine, seeing firsthand how a single illness or injury could tip a whole family into ruin—and how treatment could restore that family’s future.
But what path would she take to become a physician?
The answer became clear when she was 16, living in Cleveland—and, by chance, met Nathan Berger, former dean of Case Western Reserve‘s School of Medicine, and founding director of what is now the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
A renowned mentor and Distinguished University Professor, Berger also founded and led the cancer center’s first summer program to give Cleveland-area high school students hands-on experience in research labs. He invited Omoijuanfo to apply.
Months later, she walked through the doors of CWRU’s Biomedical Research Building and spent the summer learning fundamental lab skills while gaining a love of scientific research.
“There were so very, very many amazing opportunities,” said Omoijuanfo, who returned the following summer—and then three more summers to help run the program as a college student. She even co-authored a published paper with Berger, who mentored her and countless others before his death last year. “He was a force for good in a way I have rarely seen,” Omoijuanfo said. And his summer program, “truly makes that difference in people’s lives and trajectories.”
The cancer center has nurtured close to 1,000 students through highly regarded educational research initiatives. Summer programs serve high schoolers and undergraduates, while longer programs serve participants from middle school through postdoctoral research.
Learn more about how educational programs have nurtured young researchers’ growth.