At a time when federal immigration policies are becoming stricter, Kunle Odunsi, director of University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, reflected on the fact that cancer research is a highly international community.

“I was born in Nigeria, I grew up in Nigeria, I went to medical school in Nigeria, and then I did some of my training in England, in the United Kingdom,” Odunsi said. “My residency in obstetrics and gynecology was at Yale School of Medicine, so it was a very welcoming environment. 

“In fact, many of us in my class, four out of six, were international graduates, because Yale had the philosophy at the time that we’re just going to take the best from wherever, and that was my experience. I felt just as good as anyone else. It was a great time.”

Ruben Mesa, president of Advocate Health Center Cancer Service Line, is the child of Cuban refugees and agreed with Odunsi that international collaboration is vital for a healthy research ecosystem.

“I trained at Mayo Clinic, and when I was a resident and fellow, I think about some of the extraordinary individuals, folks like Kunle, again, who came and had trained from other countries, but were just exceptional individuals and really moved forward the science and brought tremendous skills also from their medical training,” Mesa said. 

As part of its crackdown on immigration under the Trump administration, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services announced that as of Sept. 21, H-1B visa petitions will require a $100,000 fee in an attempt to “curb abuses and protect American workers.” 

“For someone like myself, I don’t think Yale would’ve paid $100,000 to get me an H-1B visa at the time, and I’m sure it’s going to be hard,” Odunsi, who is also the director of the Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, the AbbVie Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and dean for oncology at University of Chicago Medicine, said. “But as I said, and as you pointed out, we have to keep our eyes on the target, on our target, and that is cancer.”

A transcript of this episode is available: https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20251107_1/