Adjoa Fosuhema-Kordie

Adjoa Fosuhema-Kordie is from the Bronx and has seen the disparities that exist in healthcare among underserved populations. She said she came to BU because of the school’s commitment to expanding healthcare access.

“There’s so many health disparities and so many issues with people who look like me, and the reason I want to become a doctor is to address these health disparities,” said Fosuhema-Kordie.

Her research is focused on improving outreach to the Black community, and Black veterans in particular, to encourage them to have annual computed tomography (CT) scans looking for lung
cancer.

“Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths and there are known disparities between Blacks and white people with a higher incidence and mortality for Black people,” Fosuhema-Kordie said. Even though it’s known that annual screening with CT scans can lower those rates, Blacks are tested at about half the rate of the white population.

“It’s great to have health fairs, but they don’t work if the people don’t show up,” she said. Fosuhema-Kordie worked with the Veterans Administration’s Center for Health Optimization & Implementation Research on improving that communication.

“I think sometimes research seems so far away from the people its actually supposed to help,” she said. “I think this is an opportunity to bridge that gap.”

Fosuhema-Kordie sees herself continuing working with underserved populations like Black women and children of immigrants.