Mentee: Alexander Bang, BS
Mentor: Bernice Kwong, MD, FAAD
Stanford University
I am extremely grateful to have been a recipient of the SOCS Observership Grant, and had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks rotating with my SOCS mentor, Dr. Bernice Kwong, at Stanford University. During my time with Dr. Kwong and the department, I learned how cutaneous toxicities from cancer therapies may present differently in patients with skin of color and may be underrecognized by clinicians. Rotating with Dr. Kwong was such an enriching experience in my journey as a future dermatologist, as she allowed me to independently care for patients and walked me through her thought processes on how she takes care of her patients. During my first week, I presented a patient with skin of color with dupilumab-induced psoriasis from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy at Stanford Dermatology’s first in-person grand rounds, and met many faculty in the department who were incredibly supportive and helpful with regards to providing our patient with potential management options.
My research projects with Dr. Kwong were also completed during rotation, with two submitted manuscripts that focus on dermatological conditions that disproportionately affect skin of color patients (erythema dyschromicum perstans and vitiligo) within the supportive oncodermatology space. Our hope is that clinicians will be able to recognize these conditions in patients on specific cancer treatments and learn how to manage them.
Outside of clinical and research endeavors, I met with Dr. Kwong frequently during the rotation where we also spent time discussing my career goals and preparing my residency application. I learned a lot from her on how she navigated her career while also maintaining an enriching personal life that I hope to emulate in the future.
Thank you to the SOCS for supporting my career and supporting my goal to eventually become a leader in the skin of color space within supportive oncodermatology. I hope to be able to give back as a mentor of the SOCS in the future. I would also like to thank Dr. Bernice Kwong for her unwavering support for me, and all the attendings and residents that I had the opportunity to learn from at Stanford Dermatology.