Six Ukrainian doctors supported by the Stanford Scholar Rescue Fund complete medical observerships
From left: Sofiia-Iryna Zaluska, Nataliya Kovalchuk, and Daryna Semotyuk in front of Memorial Church.
Each year, Stanford’s Scholar Rescue Fund offers residencies to international scholars facing threats, persecution, or severe hardship in their countries. Over the last year, the fund helped support six cancer doctors from Ukraine who completed observerships at the Stanford School of Medicine.
Nataliya Kovalchuk, a clinical professor in radiation oncology at the Stanford School of Medicine, played a key role in identifying the doctors and finding training opportunities for them through her work with the Help Ukraine Group.
During their month-long visits to campus, the Ukrainian oncologists, who represented a range of specialties, had the opportunity to shadow physicians, observe interesting clinical cases, learn about novel cancer therapies, and attend medical conferences. The trainees will apply the knowledge they acquired at Stanford to educate their colleagues and help cancer patients in Ukraine.
Dr. Iryna Kriachok (pictured left) a hematologic oncologist at the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv, completed her observership at the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program. During her time on campus, she explored some of the cutting-edge technologies and innovative methods used to diagnose and treat blood cancers, such as allogeneic transplantation, a procedure that replaces a patient’s diseased cells with new, healthy cells from a donor.
“To get such experience is extremely valuable not only for me and my career, but also for my co-workers in Ukraine with whom I will share the knowledge,” Kriachok said. “Upon my return, I am planning to use the knowledge I acquired here at Stanford to start the allogeneic stem cell transplantation program at my institution.”
Meanwhile, during her time at Stanford, pediatric oncologist Kseniia Bolharina observed how teams of physicians work together to make individualized decisions for their patients. When she returns to the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv, she would like to focus on ways to improve collaboration, prevent harassment, and cultivate a more inclusive environment within the healthcare sector.
Radiation oncologists Daryna Semotyuk and Sofiia-Iryna Zaluska, who both work at the Lviv Regional Cancer Center, participated in educational activities and learned about new radiotherapy techniques during their observerships at the Department of Radiation Oncology.
“In Ukraine, radiation oncology has often been viewed as a palliative method of treatment for cancer patients, primarily due to the scarcity of new linear accelerators and a shortage of highly qualified RadOnc teams,” explained Semotyuk. “Initiatives like these training programs are vital for improving radiation oncology, enhancing the quality of patient care, and minimizing toxicity and side effects.”
Finally, oncologists (pictured right) Andrii Hrynkiv from the Lviv Regional Cancer Center and Kateryna Cherchenko from the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv worked in the Division of Oncology and had the opportunity to attend a symposium hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco.
“It was a priceless experience for me,” said Hrynkiv. “For the first time, I was able to observe the work of the best medical oncologists in a resource unlimited setting. After my return to Ukraine, I’m going to implement gained knowledge not only into my clinical practice but also among my colleagues.”
Cherchenko said she was impressed by the comprehensive approach to patient care. “On every level there is a significant amount of medical and non-medical support personnel involved, which significantly improves communication and patients’ compliance, and also makes physicians’ [ability] to combine clinical work, clinical trials, research, and teaching much easier.”
“It was an honor to participate in the observership program. I express the greatest gratitude to everyone involved for such an opportunity and warm welcome,” Cherchenko added. “The gained experience will be invaluable in the improvement and development of Ukrainian medicine.”