Dr. Veena N. Rao is featured on website of National Cancer Institute
Veena N. Rao was selected as one of the National Cancer Institute CRCHD (Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities) monthly Spotlighted investigators. October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Dr. Rao’s research on breast cancer in African-American women is featured and described at http://crchd.cancer.gov/news/spotlights/grantee-spotlights_rao.html
Dr. Rao is a Professor and Co-Director of the Cancer Biology Program and Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar in the Dept. of Ob/Gyn at Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, Grady. From Osmania University, her career has taken her to various countries. Here her work is to unravel the mysteries of the BRCA1 gene and its role in breast and ovarian cancer, for which she has received CRCHD grants. Her aim is to detect the cancer early to break the disparity between diverse populations. She also trains scholars in cancer health disparities research and brings minority students into scientific careers.
Outside her work, Rao has also contributed to diversity awareness. She developed a multicultural program in her child’s school district to teach children about different cultures and allow them to appreciate the diversity in their community, and she introduced the program to Georgia when she moved here.
Science, she tells students, is “about passion, it’s about honesty, and most importantly science consists of hard work”—to which her many awards in her 20-year career testify.
Website Bonus Feature
[The article above appears only on the website for December 2014, not in the print/digital issues.]
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
