Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick’s childhood struggles with sickle cell anemia partially explain why he became a surgeon.
As a youngster, Frederick aspired to be the one to find a cure for the genetic blood disorder that primarily affects people of sub-Saharan African descent. Although he has turned his attention to oncology, he’s still committed to addressing ailments disproportionately affecting minorities.
Frederick is the associate dean of clinical strategy and operations at Howard University’s College of Medicine as well as chief of the general surgery division and interim director of Howard University Hospital’s Cancer Center. The focal point of his research is narrowing the disparity in cancer-care outcomes between African-Americans and the larger population, particularly in the area of breast cancer.
African-American women are less likely than White women to get breast cancer, but more likely to get it in their 30s and 40s and have a higher mortality rate.
