To get to know each other, better, the Office of Academic & Professional newsletter features one of our exemplary faculty members reflecting on their “why"–or what inspires them. Today, meet Pamela L. Kunz, MD, professor of internal medicine (medical oncology); director, Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center; and chief, GI medical oncology, shares her passions, professional aspirations, and other inspirations.
In Depth
What's Your Y?: Meet Pamela L. Kunz, MD
What’s Your Y?
What drew you to your area of expertise (clinical or research)?
Oncology offers a combination of interesting science with the ability to develop meaningful, long-term relationships with patients. The early 2000s saw the beginning of targeted therapies in oncology, and as I was finishing my internal medicine residency in 2004, I knew I wanted to be part of those advances. Later, I became interested in gastrointestinal (GI) oncology, and later neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) by chance; a senior hematology-oncology fellow had unfinished projects, including clinical trials in GI oncology, he hoped to handoff upon his graduation.
As for my NET focus, a mentor invited me to write a review paper with him at a time when there were very few approved therapies in the field and new randomized clinical trials were just being developed. “It’s easier to become an expert in a rare disease,” he advised and that always stuck with me. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to dedicate my career to NETs and to be part of the drug development process and FDA approvals for a rare disease.
Tell us about a mentor that has been an influence in your career? What’s one piece of advice from your mentor you would like to share with medical students or incoming faculty members?
Looking back on my career, there is no single mentor who played a leading role. Instead, I have benefitted from a collection of dedicated, thoughtful, and inspiring mentors, sponsors, coaches. I learned very early that no single person can serve every role. One may be an amazing clinical mentor, another a great research mentor, and yet another a coach. They all become part of your support system or village.
One piece of advice my coach gave me was to align my goals with my values because misalignment can lead to unhappiness and burnout. I try to regularly re-evaluate my goals, values, and what matters most, and I encourage my mentees to do the same.
Why did you choose Yale for your clinical/research career aspirations?
After nearly two decades at the same institution, I was looking for a new challenge and a mentor advised to “find new soil and replant myself.” The strength of Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and its track record of team science was an immediate draw and gave me the opportunity to join Yale in July 2020. At the time I was recruited, YCC had three Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORES) that truly defined team science by bringing together multiple intersecting projects across translational and clinical science.
As director of the Center for GI Cancers and chief of GI Oncology, I hope to build strong teams and programs around patient care, research, and education, as I aspire to support a SPORE in GI cancers one day. During my time at Yale, I have felt valued and supported in my time at Yale, with a balance of guidance and autonomy from leadership.
If given the chance to have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would you choose and why?
- My dad, Thomas Kunz: My dad sustained a traumatic brain injury following a motor vehicle accident in 2011 and then died of COVID in 2020. He was a biology professor at Boston University, and I am in academics largely because of him. He got sick just as my career was starting and I wish I could talk with him about my career journey, my kids, and the current challenges in higher education.
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg: RBG is one of my heroes. Her steadfast commitment to equity and human rights served as an inspiration to me when I was navigating gender discrimination and a challenging workplace at a previous institution. A dear friend gave me a little RBG action figure that still sits on my shelf.
- Michelle Obama: Michelle Obama represents so many qualities I hope to emulate. She is deeply committed to her family, true to herself, shows grace under pressure, is willing to swerve and take risks, demonstrates integrity even when criticized, and perseveres when she is “the first” in her many roles.
What’s your passion outside the classroom/hospital setting?
My family is my passion outside of the classroom: My husband, Jeff Kwan, a gastroenterologist in community practice; our three sons, ages 20, 17, and 14; a goldendoodle named Lucy; and my 91-year-old mother lives nearby. When not at work, I can usually be found watching my sons on a baseball field or a basketball court.