Ekokobe Fonkem, DO, Joins the College as Vice Chair and Professor of Neurology
Ekokobe Fonkem, DO, has joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix as vice chair and professor of Neurology. He is also the new chief of Neuro-oncology at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center.
"Dr. Fonkem is a seasoned leader, who will bring incomparable research and clinical expertise to our department and the college. His research focused on improved therapies for cancer and other neurological diseases will have an immense impact on the future health of Arizonans," said Andrei Alexandrov, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology.
Prior to joining the college, he served as the department chair of Neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, as well as chief of Neuro-oncology at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ, and at Baylor Scott and White Health System in Central Texas.
Dr. Fonkem has held or holds numerous leadership roles in prestigious medical societies in his field. He is the co-founder and now treasurer of the Society of Neuro-oncology Sub Saharan Africa (SNOSSA); the co-founder of the Brain Tumor Consortium of Africa (BTCA); the co-chair of the Society for Neuro-Oncology Engagement Committee; and the co-director for the Society for Neuro-Oncology Future Leaders Training Program.
Dr Fonkem received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He followed this with a medical degree from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
He completed his neurology training at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. He then finished his neuro-oncology fellowship at Harvard University Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, as well as a year-long leadership development fellowship with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
In addition to running an active clinical practice — where he sees patients with brain cancer and other neurological diseases — Dr. Fonkem runs a translational research laboratory, conducting research to discover new therapies for cancer and neurological diseases.
Through his distinguished career, Dr. Fonkem has published more than 200 manuscripts, abstracts and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. And he holds five patents from his research inventions.
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About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
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