Vineet Arora, MD, MA, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean of Curricular Innovation of Pritzker School of Medicine, and Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Arora’s academic interests include the development and testing of innovative workplace interventions and policies designed to improve the learning environment and the quality and safety of care delivered to hospitalized patients. She also directs the Training Early Achievers for Careers in Health (TEACH) Research Program, designed to prepare and inspire diverse talented high school students from Chicago Public Schools to enter clinical research careers. For more information on TEACH go to the Center for Health and Social Services website: http://www.chess.bsd.uchicago.edu.

Deborah Burnet, MD, MA, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Section Chief of General Internal Medicine, and Vice Chair of Faculty Development for the Department of Medicine. She is an experienced general internist and pediatrician with extensive community ties on Chicago’s south side. She developed the cultural competence curriculum for the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and she recently completed a Child and Family Policy Fellowship at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Studies. Dr. Burnet is currently conducting NIH – funded community-based translation research to implement and evaluate the REACH-OUT intervention for overweight African American youth at risk for diabetes.

Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Olopade is an oncologist who translates her basic research on individual and population cancer susceptibility into an effective clinical practice for treating breast cancer among African and African-American women. Her early research led to the identification of a tumor suppressor locus on the short arm of the 9th chromosome. Her more recent work focuses more specifically on the molecular genetics of breast cancer in women of African heritage. Tumors of this population demonstrate distinct biological characteristics, including a high level of aggressiveness and resistance to treatment. Dr. Olopade first described recurrent BRCA1 mutations in extended African-American families with breast cancer, and reported BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in pre-menopausal breast cancer patient s from West Africa. She oversees a coordinated, multidisciplinary, clinical program that includes oncologists, primary care physicians, genetic counselors, sociologists, and psychologists, and provides free access to genetic services for local, at-risk populations. Currently, Olopade also heads a West African clinical trial for a pill form of chemotherapy as treatment for women with advanced breast cancer. In bridging continents with her innovative research and service models, Olopade is increasing the probability of improved outcomes for millions of women of African heritage at risk for cancer here and abroad.

Monica Peek, MD, MS, MPH, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Section of General Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago where she provides clinical care, teaches and does health services research in the area of health disparities. She recently completed a Medicine as a Profession (MAP) fellowship in physician advocacy from the Open Society Institute where she created the community-based initiative, Sisters Working It Out...Health Advocacy in Motion, designed to empower women in Chicago’s public housing developments to become health educators and health advocates. She is currently funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to explore the impact of shared decision-making among African-Americans with diabetes. Dr. Peek is actively involved in several community-based organizations, including the Chicago Black Women’s Health Project, the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization, and Sisters Network, Inc.

Thomas Fisher MD, MPH, Instructor of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine participated in the founding of Project Brotherhood, a health care center specifically for African-American men. He obtained a Masters degree in Public Health from Harvard University where he worked with community-based organizations to craft policy solutions that mobilize health care resources for the underserved. After training in emergency medicine at the University of Chicago where he was Chief Resident, he completed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. His work is organized by a social justice agenda as he studies the complex role of race in health and health care, stereotyping and physician contribution to racial disparities in health care. He is faculty associate of the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture and Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change.

Rick Kittles, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Genetic Medicine. Dr. Kittles’ research focus involves the genetics of complex diseases. His work entails understanding how genetic variation is structured across major human populations. Currently his work explores sequence variation related to risk of prostate and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and human pigmentation. His interests also include biological and sociocultural issues related to “Race” and health disparities, and gene mapping for common traits and disease in African Americans and Hispanic Americans.