Recio-Boiles receives Winn Career Development Award

Alejandro Recio-Boiles, MD, FACP, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, was selected for the third cohort of the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award through the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation for early-stage investigator physicians.

“This award carries profound significance for me, my career and my community,” Recio-Boiles said. “It represents a crucial step towards advancing inclusivity and equity for underrepresented minorities within the realm of clinical research. This recognition affirms my commitment to advancing health care disparities through diversity in clinical trials and highlights the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping impactful medical interventions.”

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At the UArizona Cancer Center, Recio-Boiles is a member of the clinical and translational oncology program, a member of the genitourinary cancer clinical research team and serves as the assistant director of community outreach and engagement.

“This award provides vital resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities, propelling my career forward and enabling me to make an even more significant contribution to cancer research,” he said. “Beyond my individual journey, this award holds immense importance for my community of Hispanic males.”

According to the Winn CDA website, the purpose of the award is to protect 40% of scholars’ work time for program participation, which includes research activity, training, career development planning, program events and reporting. Scholars are required to receive mentorship from a seasoned clinical investigator at a clinical trial site or institution and are expected to actively participate in their mentor’s clinical trial.

Recio-Boiles’ mentorship team includes Jennifer Hatcher, PhD, MPH, MSN, a professor in the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, interim associate vice president of the UArizona Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a health equity researcher expert, along with Edward Gelmann, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the College of Medicine – Tucson and the John Norton Endowed Chair for Prostate Cancer Research. Recio-Boiles and Hatcher have worked together on multiple community projects and Gelmann is Recio-Boiles’s senior professor in the genitourinary cancer clinical research team and has collaborated with him on several clinical trials over the years.

Joann Sweasy, PhD, former director of the Cancer Center, co-authored Recio-Boiles’ recommendation letter along with Hatcher and Gelmann. “Dr. Recio-Boiles is most deserving of this award. He has an incredibly bright future ahead of him,” Sweasy said.

“My mentors and I are working on a two-part project consisting of training by hands-on clinical trial diverse practice and designing the future community-driven diverse clinical trial,” Recio-Boiles said.

“The first part is all about assessing whether our community is ready to trust our team in participating in a clinical trial related to preventing heart issues caused by the male hormonal suppression treatment for prostate cancer in Hispanic men with a high risk of strokes, abnormal heart rhythms, heart failures and heart attacks. We’ll work closely with the community providers and educate them about how to prevent and monitor heart problems, and then we’ll bring in a research study that uses two approved drugs with different effects on the heart to see how well they work best in our community,” he said.