Dr. Aparna Parikh is a GI oncologist but has a long standing background and interest in global health, having spent time in several African countries, Haiti and India. Most recently, at MGH, she co-founded and co-leads a program called POETIC ( Program for Enhanced Training in Cancer (POETIC)) This fellowship exchange program, conducted in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Cancer Center and Lowell Schnipper, MD, trains clinical oncology fellows from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Ocean Road Cancer Center in Tanzania. POETIC Fellows attend multidisciplinary conferences, clinics, and teaching sessions in hopes of further building capacity for oncology care in Sub-Saharan Africa. Oncologists at Mass General Cancer Center mentor and train POETIC participants in the treatment of lymphomas, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and other tumors particularly common in Africa. During the first year, seven remarkable trainees from South Africa, Malawi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania participated in the fellowship and upon completion, returned to their home countries as one of a handful of oncologists responsible for serving populations of more than 20 million people. POETIC is in it’s 3 year and adapting to COVID. Dr.Parikh also sits on the executive board of BOTSOGO, a collaboration between MGH and the  Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Botswana’s cancer caregivers and the Botswana government. The group’s ultimate goal is to improve access to quality cancer care in Botswana by educating the Botswana population, training future generations of cancer caregivers and conducting vital clinical research.

Please see Dr. Parikh’s Harvard Catalyst Profile for selected publications.