Dr. Edjah Nduom shakes the hand of President Joe Biden
Correction: This article initially reported that Dr Edjah Nduom had been appointed by the US President to lead the fight against cancer. This is not factual and corrections have been effected to the story to reflect the facts.
The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, was joined by the son of businessman and politician in Ghana, Paa Kwesi Nduom, in the White House to unveil a national campaign to end cancer.
Dr Edjah Nduom, a neurosurgeon-scientist at Emory University, introduced Biden at the ceremony to relaunch the Cancer Moonshot initiative which was first introduced five years ago under President Barack Obama’s administration.
According to a report on news.emory.edu, Dr Edjah during the introduction described Biden the United States of America's “patient advocate in chief” adding that the rapid pace of scientific discovery makes this “the most exciting moment in the history of our field.”
He noted that “knowing that there is a president who is throwing the full weight of the presidency behind this effort means that even between big announcements like this one, all levers of government are being pulled to create a brighter future for cancer patients."
In his address, President Biden told Dr. Nduom how special he was to him.
“See that doctor on the end there. That’s the man who spent 18 months trying to save our son’s life. Doctor, I love you. The whole family loves you,” Biden said.
According to nbcnews.com, on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, President Joe Biden announced a relaunch of the "Cancer Moonshot" program started during the Obama administration.
It had a goal of ending a disease that kills more than 600,000 people a year in the US.
"We can end cancer as we know it. This is a presidential White House priority," Biden is reported to have said.
Also, President Biden announced a campaign to get more people screened for cancer, noting that more than 9 million cancer screenings have been skipped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Dr Edjah Nduom
Dr Edjah K Nduom, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine in the US.
Dr Nduom’s clinical specialty is the surgical management of brain and spinal cord tumors. He is particularly interested in the safe resection of malignant tumors located in eloquent areas of the brain, the brainstem and spinal cord.
Dr. Nduom is a member of the Cancer Immunology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He holds numerous positions in national and international medical societies.
Notably, he is Co-Founder and Diasporan Representative of the Society for Neuro-Oncology Sub-Saharan Africa; International Outreach Committee Co-Chair of the Society for Neuro-Oncology; Membership Director of the Joint Tumor Section of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons; and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Brain Tumor Society.
Dr. Nduom received his MD from University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed a residency in Neurosurgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
He completed a Research Fellowship in Neurosurgical Oncology in the Surgical Neurology Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, and an additional Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Nduom’s research focuses on the modulation of the immune system for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. He has presented his translational and clinical work on immune therapy for brain tumors at numerous national and international meetings.
I’ve formed a new Cancer Cabinet, which will be convened in the coming weeks. They will drive the whole-of-government effort to unleash every possibility within our power to end cancer as we know it.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 3, 2022
The Cancer Moonshot will work to:
- Cut the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 2, 2022
- Turn more cancers from death sentences to chronic diseases people can live with
- Create a more supportive experience for patients and families
