GRACE is pleased to announce the acceptance of four rising stars into the 7th year of the GRACE Patient Education Ambassadors Program for the 2025-26 Program Year! 

Applications for this program are open in March every year. To be notified when applications for this program open, please email Amy Bickleman, Executive Director, at abickleman@cancergrace.org to be added to the notification list.  

All four candidates have shown a genuine passion for patient education and innovation in connecting with the patient community. The program will encompass the participants creating content which will be featured on the GRACE website, working alongside GRACE faculty, Board, and staff, and learning the most current and effective communication skills needed to succeed at connecting and communicating with patients in their field. The program starts on July 1, 2025, and ends on June 30, 2026. We are excited to work with them over the next year to continue to educate cancer patients on the most current and emerging treatment options. Watch for new videos, articles, and podcasts featuring the passions that these four amazing fellows have to share with the community!

Dr. Chinmay T. Jani

Dr. Chinmay T. Jani is a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at the University of Miami/Jackson Health System. He completed his medical education at Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College in India, followed by an Internal Medicine residency and Chief Residency at Mount Auburn Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. 

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Dr. Jani's clinical and translational research centers on Thoracic and Genitourinary Oncology with a strong focus on experimental and biomarker-driven therapeutics. He is actively involved in phase I/II clinical trials and has received intramural funding to evaluate the role of probiotics in combination with ICI. Additionally, he is leading a correlative study investigating TEM8 as a predictive biomarker in patients with high-grade neuroendocrine tumors, including SCLC, treated with oncolytic virus therapy. 

Dr. Jani has contributed to national collaborative efforts such as the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC-19) and has been recognized with early career and scholar-in-training awards for his research contributions. His long-term goal is to advance precision oncology by integrating biomarker-guided strategies and innovative immunotherapeutic approaches to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Faith Abodunrin

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Dr. Faith Abodunrin is a hematology and oncology fellow specializing in thoracic and head and neck malignancies at the University of Chicago. She completed her internal medicine training at Creighton University, Nebraska, and now provides both inpatient and outpatient care to patients with hematologic and solid tumors. Her clinical and research interests lie at the intersection of patient-centered care and global oncology, with a focus on expanding access to clinical trials across diverse international populations. Dr. Abodunrin is committed to fostering collaboration across borders to improve cancer outcomes worldwide.

Dr. Nikita Baclig

Dr. Nikita V. Baclig is a Hematology-Oncology fellow and PhD candidate in Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She will be joining the Genitourinary Oncology faculty at UCLA in July 2025.

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Originally from the Chicago area, Dr. Baclig earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University. She then spent two years as a clinical research assistant with the Stanford Blood and Marrow Transplant Program before completing her MD and MPH at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She went on to train in internal medicine at the University of Washington, where she served as the Chief Resident for Quality and Safety at the VA Puget Sound.

Dr. Baclig’s academic and clinical interests center on cancer survivorship, supportive care, and the intersection of cancer and aging, particularly in patients with genitourinary malignancies. During her fellowship, she helped develop a specialized Genitourinary Survivorship Clinic under the mentorship of Drs. Alexandra Drakaki and Patricia Ganz. Her research and quality improvement efforts have spanned oncofertility, immune-related adverse events, adolescent and young adult mental health, and health economics. She looks forward to building on this work through the GRACE program, with the goal of enhancing survivorship and supportive care communication between patients and their oncology teams.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Baclig enjoys exploring the diverse Los Angeles food scene, hiking and biking, reading, and spending time with her family.

Dr. Wint Yan Aung

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Wint Yan Aung, MD, is a first-year Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health.  He completed his medical degree at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, followed by an internal medicine residency at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health.  He is interested in lung cancer, including immunotherapy, population health, and clinical trial development. 

Before entering medicine, he worked as a biostatistician—an experience that taught him to translate complex data into meaningful context. This skill now shapes his approach to patient care and education. He is especially passionate about developing tools that support shared decision-making, recognizing that the right answer depends on each patient's individual goals. 

Originally from Myanmar, his path to medicine was shaped by growing up in a community with limited access to care. That experience continues to drive his commitment to advancing equity and compassionate, patient-centered care in oncology. He is excited to be part of the GRACE family and looks forward to refining his communication skills while contributing to a more inclusive, value-oriented approach to cancer care.

Welcome, Dr. Chinmay T. Jani, Dr. Faith Abodunrin, Dr. Nikita Baclig, and Dr. Wint Yan Aung!

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