PHILADELPHIA -- Chyke Doubeni has been named the second Presidential Term Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Doubeni, an expert on colorectal cancer and racial disparities in health care, is Presidential Term Associate Professor-Clinician Educator in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health of Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.

The announcement was made by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price.

“Chyke Doubeni is a dedicated cancer researcher and clinician whose work reflects his passion for reducing inequities in access and quality of care to under-served populations,” Gutmann said.  “A 2010 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their careers, he demonstrates how a commitment to mentoring and community service can enhance the application of innovative treatments for cancer patients.”

Doubeni comes to Penn from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was associate professor of family medicine and community health and recently served as interim associate vice provost for diversity. 

His research, funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, focuses on colorectal cancer, especially racial and ethnic differences in survival rates and the effectiveness of colonoscopy and other tests in reducing mortality and improving screening, particularly among low-income populations.  A fellow of the Royal College of England, he completed his family medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center and later served as medical director and a family physician at a community health center in North Carolina for underserved populations.

“Chyke Doubeni’s research makes a vital difference in the lives of cancer patients around the world,” Price said.  “His commitments to patient care and social justice embody the high ideals toward which we all aspire.  In particular, his work brings to life the twin visions of increasing access and engaging locally and globally at the heart of the Penn Compact.”

Presidential Term Professorships, supported in part by a $2 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, are awarded to exceptional scholars, of any rank, who contribute to faculty eminence through diversity across the University.

Doubeni earned an M.P.H. in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.B.B.S. in 1987 from the University of Lagos in Nigeria.