US National Cancer Institute Awards Kenyan Doctor for Role in Cancer Research

A Kenyan doctor has been feted by a US institution for his contribution to cancer research and practice.

The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Global Health announced Dr. Fredrick Chite Asirwa as the recipient of this year’s Rachel Pearline Global Cancer Award.

Asirwa, an oncologist and hematologist, is the Executive Director of the International Cancer Institute. 

"I am so grateful to the United States’ National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Center for Global Health for selecting me as the recipient of the 2020 Rachel Pearline Global Cancer Award," Asirwa said in a Facebook post on Friday.

He added: “Due to Covid-19 restrictions on travel/meetings, I will give my keynote address during the 2021 annual symposium.”

The Rachel Pearline Award is presented in honor of Rachel Pearline, MD, MPH, posthumously awarded in 2016 following her death from gastric cancer at the age of 38.

Dr. Pearline viewed the practice of medicine as a privilege, always striving to serve her patients better.