Faculty Feature: Dr. Onyinye Balogun

For this newsletter’s Faculty Feature, Annalise Schweickart (SVG President) and Nick Bartelo (SVG Co-chair of Outreach) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Onyinye Balogun, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine specializing in the treatment of breast and gynecologic malignancies. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Balogun initiated her residency training at the University of Chicago and completed her final year at New York University. She is a co-founder of Brave Little Bandits with one of her patients, Eve McDavid, a cervical cancer survivor. The company is mission driven, striving to elevate the Standard of Care by modernizing today's gynecological systems and devices to improve women's health and overall outcomes. Dr. Balogun recently placed in the Weill Cornell Medicine 2022 Business Plan Challenge and received a $25,000 award towards the development of her company's technology. Her experience as a clinician has helped her develop an impressive insight into the major problems currently impeding the advancement of care.

SVG: As a radiation oncologist, what led you to found Mission Driven Tech?

Dr. Balogun: I met Eve - 33 years old, 34 weeks pregnant, with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. With cervical cancer, there are two stages of treatment. The first stage is chemotherapy and radiation. The second part is internal radiation, a semi-surgical procedure involving a tool that causes excruciating pain upon removal. It's so uncomfortable that up to 25% of women will leave before finishing treatment. While treating her, she said, "Do you think we can do this better?" I said, "I know we can do this better. Eve, focus on getting well. Let's focus on the cancer." The deal was get to remission and then we will work on this.

The whole premise of this invention is that treatment shouldn't be about how tough you are, and how mentally tough you are to get through the pain. We should be looking actively for ways to make it more accessible, both in terms of patient comfort and not having to have as much anesthesia available when removing the device.

SVG: Your company is founded by yourself and Eve McDavid, one of your patients. How was the transition from the doctor-patient relationship to that of co-founders?

Dr. Balogun:  If you're trying to be a clinician inventor, you need a great partner, because you can't do it all. With the day to day of clinical work, I need to write notes, see people, and do research. You then don't necessarily act on some ideas. I give her credit, because she's persistent. I give me credit, because I think a lot of times, medicine gets the reputation of not listening. In medicine, we have a lot of late adopters. We can be very conservative. With good reason, we want to see all the data first. But I think we drag our feet a lot. 

This venture has been eye opening. You don't just design something and say, "Here, what do you think?" Eve and I are starting together and designing something from the patient perspective. We need to bring the community in from the beginning. From my position in medicine, it feels very much like there is no patient input. 

SVG: You placed in the Weill Cornell Medicine 2022 Business Plan Challenge and received a $25,000 award. How did this funding help you in the next direction of your company?

Dr. Balogun: With the funding, we've vetted some engineering firms. We want to create a working prototype of the device, and then do some bench testing. Probably in the future we will do some animal testing. But with the current device, the $25,000 is going to fund part of creating a prototype because it will be expensive and more than $25,000.

SVG: What advice would you give to your younger self about entrepreneurship if you could go back in time?

Dr. Balogun: Surround yourself with like minded people by getting involved with groups that are focused on startups and bioventure. Take some formal courses. There were so many things I learned through the bioventures program including how to put together a timeline, what investors are looking for, and key phrases that make you look like you know what you're talking about. Surround yourself with the right people. Focus on networking with intention and always learning.