Dr. Holder is an assistant professor at Brown University, an attending physician at the Lifespan Cancer Institute, and a physician scientist at the Brown University Legorreta Cancer Center. Most recently, he was appointed as part of the Cancer Center’s DEI leadership.
One of the first issues Dr. Sheldon Holder encountered in his career was a lack of diversity in clinical trials. As an oncologist who maintains an active research laboratory, Dr. Holder’s work depends on having an accurate understanding of how treatments impact all of his patients. Among the biggest barriers to getting more diverse clinical trial participation is successfully sharing information about open trials to everyone who could benefit from them.
Dr. Holder tackled that challenge by using the support of the Winn CDA to establish the Color of Cancer — a groundbreaking storytelling project focused on communities of color in Providence, Rhode Island, and their experiences with cancer. The project produced a series of short films, which have been screened around the state, and organizes Cancer Talk Café, a regular meet & greet discussion event that gives community members the opportunity to discuss cancer and cancer treatment with clinicians from Brown’s Legorreta Cancer Center.
“I believe, as most cancer experts do, that the best management for a patient with cancer is to be treated with a clinical trial,” says Dr. Holder. “I'm hoping that we can improve outcomes, that we can improve our cancer therapies for people from my communities. So that everyone can have the best care we are able to give at top-notch cancer centers.”
