Position: Vice President – North America

Motivation
My medical training in Africa and family experiences with cancer have engendered deep empathetic understanding of challenges to individuals, communities, and health systems in controlling cancer through prevention, early detection, and effective treatment. I will team within AORTIC to recruit resources for education, training, research, and cancer therapy in Africa.

I previously received the NIH Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship, through which I spent time conducting clinical research and published on gastric and esophageal cancer in Zambia. In 2018, I co-founded and served as the first trainer for the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) services in Ife, Nigeria. ERCP is an important procedure in the management of pancreatobiliary cancers. As a result of our program, almost 1000 ERCPs have been performed as of October 2023. We presented clinical updates at AORTIC 2019.
In March 2021, 2022, and 2023, I served as course director of the colorectal cancer (CRC) in Africa webinar to raise awareness of CRC with focus on the multidisciplinary approach to patient care. We published proceedings and received an international award.
I am one of the founding members of the African Hepatopancreatobiliary Cancer Consortium, an organization with the objective of expanding knowledge and developing a skilled network of experts in liver, biliary, and pancreatic cancers in Africa. We hosted our first scientific conference in Egypt in August 2022, second in Ghana, August 2023 and are process of planning the 3rd symposium to be hosted in Kenya 2024.
Motivation
Advancing research and cancer care in Africa requires a strong foundation in training. I have experience in creating successful mentorship programs and advancing gastroenterology by developing programs that enhance clinical and research skills in cancer care. As AORTIC council member, I will apply these lessons to develop partnerships and mentorship.

Professor Abou-Alfa focuses on the development of novel therapies for HCC. He Professor Abou-Alfa led the phase II clinical trial of sorafenib, followed by many efforts, the last of which the now approved durvalumab plus tremelimumab. Professor Abou-Alfa is now leading a global effort to further understand the tumor immune microenvironment to help define focused benefit of checkpoint inhibitors, while continuing to work on determining CAR-T antigens for HCC.
Professor Abou-Alfa envisions the universal quest for health, embodied by physicians upholding humanistic ideals. He strongly advocates for greater awareness of cancer’s global impact; and continues to lead several international educational and research efforts worldwide. This includes a seventeen-year ongoing monthly videolink worldwide educational conferences to which colleagues from Africa are regular contributors. Professor Abou-Alfa also leads international class-training conferences, proudly the last of which took place in Africa.
Such collaborative efforts helped Professor Abou-Alfa develop the business model to enhance academic interaction and set a platform to provide access to therapies and clinical trials worldwide and particularly Africa. Professor Abou-Alfa already spent time studying law in Africa part of his JD education he is completing at Fordham University, while he continues to lead this transformational change for cancer care in Africa and worldwide in what’s better for humanity.
Motivation
Professor Abou-Alfa thank you for your vote and support for him to serve on the AORTIC Council. Continuing efforts he led with Africa colleagues for the Africa Guidelines for treating HCC, and ensuring clinical trials are governed by Africa for Africa, all under AORTIC auspices are his vision and mission.

Dr. Ibraheem began her career in Nigeria, where she received her medical education and worked for almost a decade as a medical officer in all the healthcare tiers within the country. Her invaluable experience in her home country laid the groundwork for her international journey. Her internal medicine residency training was at Morehouse School of Medicine and at University of Chicago she trained as a medical oncologist and medical ethicist. She underwent an abbreviated physician program at Abbvie pharmaceuticals where she had first-hand experience on globalization of cancer clinical trials from Big Pharma and CROs perspective. She is a past recipient of the African Cancer Leadership Institute (ACLI) and has been involved in multiple programs centered on clinical trial training of African investigators. She is currently an investigator on multiple ongoing globalized breast cancer trials.
Motivation
SSA as a hub for globalized innovative therapeutic cancer clinical trial will serve as an opportunity towards closing the global cancer divide. Through a unified AORTIC we will partner with talents in arts, sports and tech to make “cancer clinical trial in Africa” a priority. This is in line with President Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative which aims to address healthcare disparity.

In addition to my clinical oncology practice, I have significant clinical and translational research experience. I have led both local and national multi-center clinical trials and served as the local principal investigator on a large number of clinical trials including Phase I, II and III studies with a focus on urologic cancers. I also run a translational lab focused on therapeutic and biomarker development in bladder and prostate cancer.
I have been a member of AORTIC for several years and attended the AORTIC 2019 International conference in Mozambique. As part of my work with the NCCN, I have attended 3 Cancer Guideline harmonization workshops in Africa: Ghana (2018), Ethiopia (2019) and Rwanda (May 2023). From this work, we have published multiple harmonized Sub-Saharan African cancer guidelines in Bladder, testis, penile and kidney cancers. In addition, I have started collaborations with African oncologists looking at issues in urologic oncology in Africa and that work is ongoing.
Motivation
I would be honored to serve on the AORTIC council. Through my visits to Africa as part of the NCCN guidelines harmonization, I have been able to meet many involved in cancer care in Africa and developed an understanding of some of the opportunities in this area.

Motivation
My experience and success in both Africa and North America are strengths for service as Vice President North America. My service mantra on the AORTIC Council will be: Listen, Learn, and Lead. My priorities will be fostering Equity in research and support for mid-level African scientists to attend AORTIC meetings.

Over the last 10 years, I have increase my involvement global health. As I continue to treat my patients in the United States, I realize that there were so many more patients that I could impact global and starting working on many education programs in training clinical oncologists throughout the world. These projects have included involvement of many organizations including IAEA, ASCO, IGCS as well as AORTIC but many have been from my own incentive and involvement of my institution. Two programs that I am most proud of – in-country (Zambia_ radiobiology and physic program for clinical oncology residents in Africa that was held three times and I hope to grow and paper was publish showing the benefit and the need of this program. The other program I have done in collaboration with Dr. Wong and Princess Margaret and this program is helps establish research program in Africa with help in training and mentors. It will be highlighted this year at AORTIC with residents presented their research project.
So in all disclosure, I held this position a couple years ago but I really feel like that I could not do what I really like to accomplish in the position due to limitation with COVID. As soon as I got the position, the world was locked down due to COVID. I would like a second chance in this position and my goal is to align and involve North America physicians with physicians and programs in AORTIC.
Motivation
I have already been involved with AORTIC in many ways including being a member of the education committee. I have also through AORTIC funding help develop a research training program for clinical oncologists in Nigeria some of this work will be highlighted in AORTIC meeting this year. My passion, interest, and dedication in improving lives of women with cancer in Africa by developing education platforms and programs as well as research training makes me an ideal candidate to serve on the council as well as my huge network of people who are also interested in this effort.