Health and Climate Change

pancreatic cancer; and metabolic regulation of stemness and cancer metastasis.

He has held numerous R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health, participated in multiple U54, P01, P20 and P50 NIH grants, and has published nearly 100 articles in scholarly journals. He has served on many grant review study sections and serves as editor for many scientific journals.

The new Department of Oncology Science is possible because of the philanthropic support of the Stephenson Family Foundation, whose $20 million gift was established as a challenge grant. In less than two years, the gift was matched. The $40 million is funding five endowed chairs at $4 million each, the renovation of lab space, and ongoing faculty recruitment. At its full faculty complement, which is anticipated in the next three to five years, the department will have 10 faculty members in addition to the chair.

Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D.

College Welcomes Chair of Newly Created Department of Oncology Science

The OU College of Medicine has created a new department — the Department of Oncology Science — to increase cancer research and offer a doctoral degree program. Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D., is founding chair and professor of the department, in addition to holding the Jim and Christy Everest Chair in Cancer Research and serving as Senior Director of Oncology Science at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

Singh comes to the OU College of Medicine from the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he served as professor and co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. He also served as coordinator for the Cancer Metabolomics Resource.

Singh brings extensive experience as a researcher, educator and mentor. His research interests include: metabolic alterations in the regulation of chemotherapy/radiotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer; metabolic regulation of cancer cachexia; nutritional interventions to prevent/revert wasting in cancer patients; tumor-stromal metabolic interactions; metabolic regulation of stromal and immune microenvironment in

Students Gain Understanding, Embrace Advocacy on Issues of Climate and Health

As they prepare for their careers, OU College of Medicine students are increasingly expanding their knowledge base beyond diagnosing and treating illness to better understanding today’s pressing issues affecting health. This year, their focus has been on climate change, which the World Health Organization has declared the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.

Each year, students organize the Bridges to Access Conference and focus on a theme that may negatively affect

the patients they will one day see in their practices. The conference, now 15 years old, engages health profession students and faculty across all seven colleges at the OU Health Sciences Center, as well as community members and healthcare industry leaders. This year’s speakers on climate change urged students to not only deepen their understanding of the high stakes regarding climate and health, but to advocate for solutions.

“There is widespread consensus among the health professionals leading our most prominent medical journals that the greatest threat to our health right now is inaction on climate change,” said OU College of Medicine student Alice Moon, chair of this year’s conference. “Not only does climate change directly impact our health, but it can contribute to worsening health disparities globally and nationally.” A keynote speaker at the conference, Robert W. Haley, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, presented detailed scientific evidence of climate change and stressed the urgency of the global situation.

“Climate change is a rapidly growing threat to our children’s future, but it can be constrained by action in the next 11 years,” Haley said. “We have to slow the rate of warming by transitioning from fossil fuel burning to non-polluting, renewable sources of power. We need to put people in office who are taking this seriously. This is the No. 1 issue in the world.”

Another keynote speaker, Elena Craft, Ph.D., senior director of climate and health at the Environmental Defense Fund, talked about a new Climate Vulnerability Index tool to identify health disparities exacerbated by climate change. Craft has helped public officials identify toxicological exposures from large releases of air pollution, including during climate-fueled disasters like hurricanes. Her work uncovered a massive leak of cancer-causing benzene in a Houston neighborhood during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Audrey Vu, another medical student and conference organizer, said speakers like Craft drew connections between health and climate that she wouldn’t have seen on her own.

“Dr. Craft’s presentation on cancer clusters in Houston helped paint a tangible picture of how, when and where climate change impacts us,” Vu said. “It was really impactful for me

Alice Moon, who chaired this year’s Bridges to Access Conference, has had a longtime interest in combating climate change and protecting the environment.

“At the heart of Bridges to Access is the mission to improve healthcare disparities through education and empowerment,” Moon added. “Unfortunately, climate change will have the greatest impact on those communities that already suffer healthcare disparities or lack sufficient resources or autonomy to respond. These include vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and those with chronic disease.”

Audrey Vu, who led the Marketing Committee for the Bridges to Access Conference, said speakers helped her better understand the extent to which climate changes affect health.