Darryl Somayaji, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRC

Assistant Professor; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oncology, Cancer Screening & Survivorship at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Darryl Somayaji.

ADDRESS:
School of Nursing
University at Buffalo
201C Wende Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214-3079

PHONE: 716-829-2178

EMAIL: darrylso@buffalo.edu

Access to necessary health programs and services continues to be the biggest challenge to reduce the burden of cancer and improve quality of life especially in underserved populations. Novel strategies, new programs, and interventions are essential to ensure health equity in a complex and evolving health care system.

Darryl Somayaji earned her BSN from Niagara University. She went on to earn an MSN from D'Youville College with a focus on community health and teaching, as well as her PhD in Nursing from the University of Utah. She also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in cancer and health disparities from the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Somayaji’s research focuses on identifying gaps in equitable health care and understanding barriers to critical cancer services including prevention, screening, treatment and supportive care. This lack of access to necessary health programs and services continues to be the biggest challenge to reduce burden of cancer and improving quality of life, especially in underserved populations. Somayaji is working to correct this challenge and to provide proper care to all and believes novel strategies, new programs and interventions are essential to ensure health equity in a complex and evolving health care system.

Before joining the SON, Somayaji completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in cancer and health disparities from the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the University of Massachusetts Boston. In addition, Somayaji also served as an adjunct faculty research fellow at Harvard University and an adjunct assistant professor of oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Currently, Somayaji is serving as a steering committee member for the 2018-2023 Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, the third of its kind, within the New York State Cancer Consortium (NYSCC). The first priority for this committee is to emphasize the importance of cancer-related health equity.