Visiting Professor of the YSMU Chair of Oncology Greg Kalemkerian is a Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan in the fields of Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine.
After completion of his medical education and training, Dr. Kalemkerian was a physician-scientist at Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute from 1993-1999. Since 1999, he has been on faculty at the University of Michigan, where he currently serves as the Associate Division Chief for Faculty Development and Education, the Associate Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, and the Clinical Research Team Leader for the Thoracic Oncology Team in the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center.
In addition to his work at UM, Dr. Kalemkerian is the former Chair of the NCCN Small Cell Lung Cancer Guideline Panel and has served on numerous grant review sections, editorial boards, and committees of national and international professional societies. His honors include the receipt of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Excellence in Teaching Award and the University of Michigan Outstanding Clinician Award, as well as election to the University of Michigan League of Clinical Excellence.
Dr. Kalemkerian has given over 200 invited lectures, authored more than 180 research articles, reviews, commentaries and book chapters, and edited two books on lung cancer.
The descendant of the generation that survived the Armenian Genocide is a well-known doctor in the United States today, and the generations he educated are recording new achievements in the field of medicine.
We talked to the famous Armenian specialist about his professional path, challenges and advantages, sources of inspiration, turning points, as well as unfulfilled dreams.
– Let us start with your decision to become a doctor. How did it happen? Was that your dream?
From a very young age, I was fascinated by nature and science. In the late 1960s, my parents received a free “A” volume of an encyclopedia, and in it was a very detailed section on Anatomy with transparent overlays showing bones, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and organs – I spent hours studying the way it all fit together. When time came to go to college, I knew that I wanted a career in science and decided on medicine since it struck me as the most useful application of science, the best way to try to make the world a better place.
– What kind of challenges can you mention in the medical profession?
There are way too many challenges in modern medicine now to list, but overall, the positives still outweigh the negatives. The modern practice of medicine in the United States has always been heavily impacted by the finances of medicine, but over the past decade or so, the focus on the bottom-line has encroached into all aspects of medicine and hampers our ability to provide optimal care. Another challenge has been the erosion of societal trust in physicians, in part driven by the rise of the Internet and the rampant misinformation that it provides.
– What privileges do you enjoy being a doctor?
The greatest privilege of being an oncologist is having the opportunity to help people when they are at their most vulnerable point. Along with this comes the privilege of getting to know our patients and their families and to share in both their triumphs and tragedies in a very close and personal way. More concretely, medicine in the United States is still a privileged field that provides financial security and job security even in difficult times.
– Please, tell a little bit about your career ladder and professional achievements.
My career path after training has changed over time. During my fellowship, I got heavily involved in lab research, studying molecular mechanisms in lung cancer, so my first real job was as a physician-scientist at Wayne State University, running my own lab. I had some success in the lab with interesting findings that led to several clinical trials, but I eventually realized that I enjoyed taking care of patients and teaching more than I enjoyed lab work and writing grant applications. After 10 years in the lab, the University of Michigan contacted me with an opportunity to develop their lung cancer program, so I shifted my focus to clinical research, patient care, teaching and administration. Over the years, the balance of these activities has shifted, but all are still part of my daily routine. I have had opportunities to take on larger administrative roles, but I realize that my strength and enjoyment lie more in the hands-on aspects of patient care and teaching.
Among the achievements that I am most proud of are the formal recognitions I have received for providing outstanding patient care, teaching and mentoring. More informally, I have seen several of my former trainees rise through the ranks to become full professors, department heads and even a cancer center director – it is an honor to be able to say that I played some small part in helping them achieve these goals.
– Who inspired or still inspires you on this path?
Prior to medical school, my only personal connection with medicine was my father, who was a pharmacist on a small island off New York City. Many of his customers came to him with questions about their injuries and ailments, and he would help them as he could, which touched me as a very generous and inspiring thing for him to do.
I also try to gain personal inspiration from something I once heard a priest say during his sermon: “I am third – God is first, others are second, I am third”. I don’t always succeed in following this, but I try.
– Could you remember events that were a turning point in your both personal and professional life?
The biggest turning points in my personal life were marrying my wife, Mary, and having our children – they both changed my life in so many positive and fruitful ways.
Professionally, being accepted to college and medical school at Northwestern University was obviously life-changing, not only professionally, but also personally as I moved away from home and learned to be independent. Doing my oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins opened my eyes to academic medicine and research opportunities that have become the main aspects of my career.
– Do you have dreams that haven’t been realized yet?
I am now 60 years old, but haven’t yet slowed down, at least not professionally! I continue with a busy oncology practice, as well as a full slate of teaching and research activities. A few years ago, I was primary editor on a book “The Handbook of Lung Cancer and Other Thoracic Malignancies” which I developed as a practical guide to caring for people with these diseases. One of my professional dreams is to have the time to write a single-author, digital version of this book which I could regularly update and distribute worldwide.
My personal dream is that I will have a long, healthy, relaxing retirement during which I can enjoy spending time with my wife and (hopefully) our grandchildren.
– Let’s speak a little bit about your family.
My wife, Mary, is an Armenian-American from the Detroit area whom I met when we were both doing medical residency in Chicago. She is also an oncologist and works as a consultant on oncology drug development. We have twin sons, Peter and John, who are currently students at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
My parents were both first-generation Armenian-Americans. My paternal grandparents came from Rodosto (currently Tekirdag) and were the only survivors of the Genocide in their families. My maternal grandparents came from the Urfa region, with most of their families managing to escape the Genocide with the help of family in Aleppo. All of them eventually found their way to New York City where my parents met through the Armenian Church youth group and where I was born and raised. My father was a pharmacist, and my mother was a teacher, so education was highly valued within our family, as it is in all Armenian families as a way to rise above those who try to oppress us.
– Professor, do you manage to relax? What hobbies do you have?
I work too much, so I have never really developed hobbies. While our boys were growing up, most of my free time was spent with family activities, including sports. We love to explore the U.S. National Parks and have been to about 15 of them so far in different parts of the country.
I enjoy reading, both fiction and non-fiction, and at the end of each day, I relax by reading the newspaper (yes, a real paper newspaper!) and following my favorite sports teams.
– Have you been to Armenia? Are you planning to visit our country in the future?
I have not yet been to Armenia. Several years ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan, Professor of Oncology at Yerevan State Medical University, when I reviewed a manuscript he published in the “Journal of Clinical Oncology”. Thanks to Gevorg, I have had the opportunity to become an adjunct professor at YSMU and had planned to make my first trip to Armenia in September 2020 to speak at the medical symposium celebrating YSMU’s 100th Anniversary. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans.
More recently, I have become involved on the Board of Trustees of the newly founded Institute of Cancer and Crisis (ICC). Now, I am hoping to visit Armenia in 2022 to participate in a symposium hosted by ICC and to learn more about how I can assist in medical education at YSMU. Hopefully, the pandemic will be behind us by then, and I and my family can enjoy exploring our ancestral homeland.
– What do you miss from your homeland?
The food!! Even though I speak and understand very little Armenian, what I feel most strongly when I attend church or other Armenian events is a sense of belonging.
– As an experienced Clinical Professor, what advice would you give to your future colleagues?
Author: Tatevik Ghazaryan