Division News
National Champs: Wilmot Future Deaf Scientists Program Recognized at Deaf Education Conference
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
DOM Chair Ruth O’Regan, MD, and fellow co-director of the Wilmot Future Deaf Scientists Program, Wyatte Hall, PhD, received the National Champion Award from the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) last week. O’Regan and Hall were honored for their “visionary leadership in establishing and expanding the [Wilmot] Future Deaf Scientists program,” which introduces deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students to the world of science and medicine with a focus on cancer research.
The National Champion Award honors stakeholders external to the CEASD for, “exemplary strategic assistance, substantive financial or programmatic support, legislative or policy advocacy, or other unique efforts which directly impact the success of CEASD on behalf of the member schools and programs, students and their families.”
Hall (right) and McLetchie (left) accepted the award at the CEASD meeting in Pittsburgh on behalf of O’Regan and the entire Wilmot Future Deaf Scientists team.The Wilmot Future Deaf Scientists Program began as a partnership between the Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Rochester School for the Deaf in 2021, offering a four-week summer internship at Wilmot for RSD high school students. Last summer, the program secured funding from the National Cancer Institute to expand its programming to four other cancer centers who will collaborate with their respective local schools for the Deaf. This summer, the internship will be offered for the first time at Yale Cancer Center, Stanford Cancer Institute, Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center.
This fall, the program will also implement a new year-round curriculum for RSD students. Wilmot researchers and medical professionals will deliver classroom lessons and fireside chats at RSD throughout the school year culminating in an expanded summer internship at Wilmot.
“Students have expressed life-changing impacts, with some identifying career goals in nursing and medicine as a direct result of their participation,” said RSD Superintendent and CEASD board member Anthony McLetchie in a letter nominating O’Regan and Hall for the award. “Drs. Hall and O'Regan have created not just an academic initiative but a transformative model for fostering scientific ambition, representation, and equity among Deaf youth. Their dedication to removing systemic barriers and empowering Deaf students exemplifies the spirit of the National Champion Award, and we are immensely proud to celebrate their far-reaching contributions to our school and the broader Deaf community.”
Kah Poh Loh to Receive 2025 Scholar Award in Clinical Research Junior Faculty from American Society of Hematolog
Friday, January 24, 2025
Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh, MD, MS, FACCC, FASCO, associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, will receive a 2025 Scholar Award in the Clinical Research Junior Faculty category from the American Society of Hematology (ASH). She is one of 35 recipients this year. She is receiving the award for her project titled, “A Telehealth Serious Illness Care Program for Older Adults with Myeloid Malignancies.” The project involved developing and testing a serious illness care program for older adults with myeloid cancers and the work was supported by the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG).