Writer.
Physician-scientist
in training.

MD-PhD candidate at Columbia University. Writing on cancer, climate, and public health.

MD-PhD Candidate

Narrative Medicine

Science Journalism

Cancer

Recent writing

Selected clips

You can order your own blood work now. Interpreting the results is another story

On the rise of direct-to-consumer blood testing, and how patients are interpreting the results

The Race to Find Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Patients Faster

Why young patients are falling through screening guidelines — and what the science says about who's really at risk

Between COVID and extreme weather, it's an agonizing time to be in your twenties

On converging emergencies, climate anxiety, and what it means to train as a doctor for the diseases ahead

New York Daily News

What to do when the air gets smoky: New Yorkers now know what living with big wildfires is like

A practical and scientific guide to wildfire smoke exposure

New York Daily News

Swifties, beware football's risks

On the neuroscience of CTE, the risks of youth football, and why new fans should know what they're watching

Writing

You can order your own blood work now. Interpreting the results is another story

On the rise of direct-to-consumer blood testing, and how patients are interpreting the results

The Race to Find Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Patients Faster

Why young patients are falling through screening guidelines — and what the science says about who's really at risk

Between COVID and extreme weather, it's an agonizing time to be in your twenties

On converging emergencies, climate anxiety, and what it means to train as a doctor for the diseases ahead

New York Daily News

What to do when the air gets smoky: New Yorkers now know what living with big wildfires is like

A practical and scientific guide to wildfire smoke exposure

New York Daily News

Swifties, beware football's risks

On the neuroscience of CTE, the risks of youth football, and why new fans should know what they're watching

Mayor Adams, ask NYC to mask up

On why New York City needed clearer public guidance during the summer 2022 COVID wave

Research

Google Scholar ↗

Genes & Development · 2026

Mutant p53: evolving perspectives

G Efe*, K Cunningham*, AK Rustgi, C Prives, JJ Manfredi, et al.

* co-first author

Trends in Cancer · 2025

Regulation of metastatic organotropism

KJ Dunbar, G Efe, K Cunningham, E Esquea, R Navaridas, AK Rustgi

Cancer Discovery · 2023

p53 gain-of-function mutation induces metastasis via BRD4-dependent CSF-1 expression

G Efe, KJ Dunbar, K Cunningham, K Sugiura, S Carcamo, S Karaiskos, et al.

Molecular Cancer Research · 2021

Platelet-coated circulating tumor cells are a predictive biomarker in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer

S Chai, N Matsumoto, R Storgard, CC Peng, A Aparicio, B Ormseth, K Cunningham, et al.

About

I'm an MD-PhD student at Columbia University, where I study cancer metastasis. I attended USC, where I majored in Quantitative Biology. I trained with the Columbia Narrative Medicine Journalism Workshop under Stephen Fried. My writing is focused on climate, cancer, and health.

Contact