We are excited to announce the first publication from the 2016 cohort of the University of Nairobi/University of Toronto Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholars program. Entitled ‘Where Does it Come from?’ Experiences Among Survivors and Parents of Children with Retinoblastoma in Kenya, the study explores how retinoblastoma genetics are understood and conceptualized by those who are affected by the disease. The study was published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling and can be accessed here.

Congratulations to first author Amal Gedleh, as well as her fellow student researchers April Lee, Yvonne Umukunda and Seemi Qaiser for their hard work. Congratulations also to Dr. Jessica A. Hill, who developed the study as part of her post-doctoral work in the Dimaras lab, and helped the student team get the study off the ground in Nairobi. Importantly, the study would not have proceeded without the scientific leadership and guidance of University of Nairobi faculty members Dr. Kahaki Kimani, Dr. Lucy Njambi and Dr. Grace Kitonyi, and PCEA Kikuyu Hospital faculty Dr. Joy Kabiru, who worked in  collaboration with Dr. Helen Dimaras.

Similar studies on Canadian retinoblastoma families and Kenyan breast cancer survivors are currently in press. Stay tuned for more information on those publications in the coming days.