Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Oncology Lauren Hamel, Ph.D., has been selected for inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business 2021 Notable Rising Stars in Health Care.

Dr. Hamel is a researcher and a scientific member of the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program for WSU and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. She has studied nonverbal communication in various contexts since working on her master’s degree in 2005.

“Look to the leaders on this list for a glimpse of the future of health care — and expect to see them rise to the highest levels of health care leadership in Michigan and beyond,” Crain’s said. “Crain’s Notable Rising Stars in Health Care are on the vanguard of health care technology and informatics. They are administrators, innovators, and advocates pushing to make health care more equitable.”

Dr. Hamel, the publication noted, is  principal investigator for several research studies related to identifying the unique problems that Black cancer patients experience. “In part, she develops tools that improve the quality of clinical communication, particularly among Black patients who are inequitably burdened by cancer treatment costs. Her efforts have included designing an app that helps patients discuss cost-related issues through an educational video and provides a personalized list of questions.”

She also was named among the nation’s 40 Under 40 in Cancer Class of 2020, an award that recognizes contributions by rising stars and emerging leaders under the age of 40 in the United States.

An ongoing Wayne State University School of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development series on implicit bias was launched with Dr. Hamel’s assistance. She developed the curriculum as a member of the WSU Office of the Provost’s Academic Leadership Academy, an intensive one-year leadership development experience, in collaboration with Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Dean for Faculty Development Beena Sood, M.D.; and WSU Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Marquitta Chamblee, Ph.D.

“Our goal is to implement an innovative, comprehensive, evidence-based and longitudinal implicit bias training curriculum for WSU School of Medicine medical students, graduate students, staff and faculty by leveraging WSU expertise in implicit bias, patient-physician communication, medical education, and diversity and inclusion,” Dr. Hamel said. “We designed the course content areas and sessions to be comprehensive and complementary, and identified content areas based on the expertise of Wayne State, the School of Medicine, and individual faculty members and researchers.”

Leaders on the Crain’s list were selected from nominations by a team of editors based on career accomplishments, track record of success in the field and effectiveness of their efforts. View the full list of Notable Rising Stars in Health Care here.