Adrienne Waks (Dana-Farber) Kicks Off CCB's New EDIB Seminar Series with "Breast Cancer 101"

On October 9, CCB launched its first-ever Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) Seminar Series with a presentation entitled “Breast Cancer 101: What You Need to Know,” by Dr. Adrienne Waks of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The seminar, held in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, provided the CCB community with crucial information about breast cancer screening guidelines, as well as an overview of the various types and treatments of breast cancer. Dr. Waks emphasized the importance of detection, outlining how screening can significantly improve outcomes.

Dr. Waks, a renowned breast oncologist, brought a wealth of experience to the conversation. After earning her undergraduate degree at Princeton University and her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, she completed her residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she also served as Chief Resident. She now works as a staff physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research for breast oncology, and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical and translational research is focused on developing new breast cancer treatments and understanding the mechanisms of response and resistance, with a special focus on HER2-positive breast cancer and the immune microenvironment.

This seminar is the first in the CCB EDIB Seminar Series, which aims to create a platform for meaningful discussions around important EDIB topics such as breast cancer awareness, the gender gap in academia, racial diversity, and writing EDIB statements. Through these sessions, participants will be encouraged to explore how aspects of personal identity brought into the scientific workplace enrich scientific discovery and the culture of higher education.

The series is supported by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) EDIB Graduate Student Fellowship program, with fellow Jack Thomas-Colwell (Nocera Group) playing a key role in its organization. The program is overseen by Principal Research Scientist  & Lecturer Dilek Dogutan and Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Josh Cox. The department plans to gather feedback from attendees and hopes to continue and expand the series in the future.

Photos are available via the Breast Cancer 101 Media Gallery and a recording can be accessed via Panopto (HarvardKey Required).