UAB Women in Medicine: Uma Borate, M.D.

Q&A With Uma Borate

Uma Borate is an Assistant Professor and the Co-Associate Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program. She did her medical school training at the B.J. Medical College in Pune, India, before moving to Philadelphia to complete her residency and then to Birmingham to complete her fellowship and start her career. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine?

I guess you could say it’s the family business. I grew up listening to my parents live and breathe medicine. I never really saw this profession as optional, because I saw how fulfilling it was to my parents, and I always knew I wanted that for myself. It was more than a job to them. I figured this out early on.

Can you tell me a little more about what brought you to Birmingham?

I grew up in India. I came here in 2002 to do my post-graduate education here at UAB, and I’ve been here ever since. I trained here as a fellow to do hematology/oncology. This is the place where I met my husband, and this is where I fully figured out what I wanted to do when I grow up, so Birmingham is very special to me.

What kind of challenges do you face being a woman in the medical field?

I don’t think there are many I had to face until I had my child. At that point, I knew I wanted to be a successful doctor and I knew I wanted to give 100 percent to being a wonderful mother. You don’t even know where to begin to achieve compromise. To me, that is the hardest part of being a woman and a doctor.

What is your favorite part of working in the Cancer Center?

The most exciting part of being a doctor who takes care of cancer patients is that every day there’s a new treatment or research finding we didn’t even know about five years ago. Just knowing that I am a part of that is exciting and fulfilling.

What are you working on right now?

I do a lot of research in the field of leukemia. We are now in the era of personalized medicine, and UAB is leading the pack in this. Being involved in that effort is very cool. 

Do you have any advice for young women interested in joining the medical field?

You just have to be focused and love what you do. This line of work is so much more than a job. It’s time-fulfilling and exhausting, but most of all, it is endlessly rewarding.

Why Give Wednesday: Learn about UAB & Leukemia/ Lymphoma

What is Leukemia?

Leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream. There are an estimated 52,380 new cases of leukemia in the United States in 2014. There are an estimated 24,090 deaths due to Leukemia predicted this year.

What is Lymphoma?

Lymphomas are cancers that affect the cells in the immune system and are the most common type of blood cancer. Depending on the specific cells that are affected, each case is classified as one of two primary types – Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s – and these two categories break down further into five types of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and more than 40 subtypes of non-Hodgkin’s.

Of the two types, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is far more common, affecting approximately 70,800 estimated in 2014 in the United States, as opposed to 9,190 cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is any of a large group of cancers of lymphocytes (white blood cells). Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas can occur at any age and are often marked by lymph nodes that are larger than normal, fever, and weight loss. 

Hodgkin's lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that is marked by the presence of a type of cell called the Reed-Sternberg cell. Symptoms include the painless enlargement of lymph nodes, spleen, or other immune tissue. Other symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, or night sweats. Also called Hodgkin disease.

Why Choose UAB

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is a nationally recognized leader in the field of leukemia and lymphoma research and actively conducts clinical trials for both acute and chronic leukemia patients and both Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients.

The Cancer Center has been involved in several clinical trials of Clofarabine, an anti-leukemia drug developed here in Birmingham. Many of these examine the drug’s effects on patients older than 60.

The Cancer Center has also been involved in several clinical trials and conducts much epidemiologic study on the outcomes of minority patients with lymphoma.

Much leukemia and lymphoma research is done through UAB’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, which is one of the 10 largest in the country.

Visit our website for more information, your support is greatly appreciated. Donations are accepted here.