Dr. Edith Mitchell Elected to Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians of London

Edith P. Mitchell, MD, FACP, FCPP, FRCP, Associate Director for Diversity Affairs at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health, has been recognized as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London (RCP).

The RCP was founded in 1518 by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. RCP fellows are distinguished consultants or SAS doctors and are given the honor of using the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP) postnominal. Fellowship is an accolade held by some of the most exceptional and innovative physicians in the world. It is a mark of achievement and skill as a doctor, recognizing one’s ongoing contribution to the profession, and amplifies one’s voice to shape the future of healthcare.

Mitchell, who is also Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, has spent her career helping individuals in medically underserved areas. She conducts research on minority participation in clinical trials and barriers to accrual, including ethnic and socioeconomic factors. Her research in breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers and other gastrointestinal malignancies involves new drug evaluation and chemotherapy, development of new therapeutic regimens, chemoradiation strategies for combined modality therapy, patient selection criteria, and supportive care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

In addition to her medical achievements, Mitchell is a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, the first woman physician to attain the rank in the history of the Air Force.

Mitchell is an appointed member of the President’s Cancer Panel and served as the 116th President of the National Medical Association. Because of her experience in the cancer research community, Mitchell was selected to serve as a member of the NCI’s Blue Ribbon Panel convened to advise the National Cancer Advisory Board on then Vice President Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. She has also served on numerous committees for the National Cancer Institute, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and American Association for Cancer Research, among others.

Throughout her career, Mitchell has been recognized with myriad honors and awards, including the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Control Award, ASCO’s Humanitarian Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Jefferson’s 2018 Achievement Award in Medicine, the Octavius Valentine Catto Award for community service in the City of Philadelphia, and the 2016 Historically Black College Alumnus of the Year. She has been inducted into the National Historical Black College Hall of Fame and as an honorary member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Additionally, she has been awarded more than 15 military service medals and ribbons, including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Achievement and Commendation Medals, National Defense Service Medal, and Humanitarian Service Medal.

“Dr. Mitchell is a longstanding Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center leader who has improved the lives of cancer patients throughout her career, and has worked tirelessly to reduce cancer disparities in underserved communities,” said Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, Executive Vice President, Oncology Services at Jefferson Health, and Enterprise Director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. “Fellowship to the Royal College of Physicians of London is an accolade held by some of the most exceptional and innovative physicians in the world. It is a well-deserved honor and a testament to Dr. Mitchell’s achievement and skill as an exceptional, compassionate oncologist, and her ongoing contribution to the profession.”

Mitchell received her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University in Nashville. She entered the Air Force during medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, receiving a commission through the Health Professions Scholarship Program, and entered active duty after completing an internship and residency at Meharry Medical College in Nashville and a fellowship at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

For more: https://sidneykimmelcancercenter.jeffersonhealth.org/?article=2020-dr--edith-mitchell-elected-to-fellowship-in-the-royal-college-of