December 7, 2023 by
Janet Essman Franz
Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was recognized by the United Negro College Fund Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Society at at an event held September 17 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., for her work with Black in Cardio.
Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D.
Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was recognized by the United Negro College Fund Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Society for her work with Black in Cardio. The September 17 event took place at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Black in Cardio and other Black in X organizations received honors for “Outstanding Leadership in Life Sciences.”
Black in X is a network and a movement with a unified mission to confront anti-Black racism in medicine, data sciences, and epidemiology. The objective of Black In Cardio is to increase representation, provide access to information and remove stigmatization of Black communities in cardiovascular research. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, and cardiovascular mortality is highest for Black individuals.
Kamin Mukaz, along with Makeda Stephenson, a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University, and Catherine Tcheandjieu, D.V.M., Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, began the Black in Cardio movement on Twitter in 2020. Black in Cardio has now grown to an international group of cardiovascular scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and subject areas.
Kamin Mukaz will join the Larner College of Medicine faculty on January 8, as assistant professor of medicine. Her research explores links between residential segregation and the development of hypertension, and links between residential segregation and unfavorable levels of biomarkers of inflammation and coagulation. This research can inform changes that lead to better prevention measures for cardiovascular diseases. Kamin Mukaz’s postdoctoral advisor is Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine.