Not everyone could work successfully with their spouse, but then again, there aren’t many people like Megan Lim, MD, PhD and Kojo Elenitoba-Johnson, MD. Partners in life and work, they are a well-oiled machine and the embodiment of successes possible when two quite distinct yet complementary energies work together towards the same goal.
The Goal
And that goal is a lofty one: to understand the complex genetic landscape of cancer and disease and harness the explosion of information brought forth from the Human Genome Project to influence better diagnosis and treatments.
“The mechanics of our trains of thought are different. We have very different analytical strategies and solve problems from different angles. But we always, eventually, get to the same place.” Megan explained.
The Peter C. Nowell, MD, Professor, and Director of the Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD), Kojo leads the effort to uncover new connections between patients’ genetic information, potential drug therapies, and treatment outcomes—giving oncologist critical information that allows them to treat patients with drugs that have success targeting their particular genetic mutations.
As the founding Director of a new Division of Hematopathology and Director of the Lymphoma Biology Program at the Abramson Cancer Center, Megan is responsible for establishing a clinical program that evaluates patients with blood disorders, training future hematopathologists, participating in research of disorders such as Castleman disease and pediatric lymphoma, and identifying novel mechanisms that will reveal novel therapies for blood cancers.
Their story began in over 20 years ago when they met the first day of their Hematopathology Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While they were very different people coming from different cultures, he from Nigeria and she from Canada, they found commonality in their differences and comfort in helping one another negotiate their research and careers.
The Partnership
It was clear from the onset to both Megan and Kojo that they would be good friends.
“The first thing I noticed was Megan’s kindness,” Kojo explained. “She is exceptional in many ways, but her ability to reciprocate unkindness with more kindness is special. That is the embodiment of my wife. It was true then, and over 20 years later, it is still true.”
Compelled by her deep convictions of strength through collaboration, Megan worked hard to instill a community environment within their hyper-competitive NIH environment.
It was Megan’s support of Kojo’s work that ended up defining his fellowship. Tackling a difficult and challenging project, it was impossible for him to see around data bottlenecks that he believed were keeping him from finishing his work. He was about to give up when Megan urged him to write up what he had, even if it wasn’t finalized, and create a poster.
Believing he had nothing to show for a year of work, he refused. But trusting her implicitly, he allowed Megan look at his files. With the help of another fellow, Megan pulled together his poster in the wee hours of the night. It wasn’t that his data wasn’t good enough, far from it, it was so good that it transcended case studies available at the time. That work ended up being award winning, and led to his first grant and the launch of his career.
“I learned so many lessons from that,” Kojo recalled. “No one person can do it alone, Megan believed in me more than I believed in myself, at a critical time when I needed it the most.”
After their fellowship ended, Kojo moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and Megan to Toronto for their respective faculty positions. Despite the geographic separation, they kept in touch and exchanged ideas about clinical cases and projects. I enjoyed talking about our cases,” Megan said. “We came up with projects together when we were living apart. Even now, when we are traveling separately, we fall back into old habits and talk on the phone for hours and hours.”
The Key to Success
Key to their personal and professional success is their mutual commitment to cherishing their differences, listening to one another, and valuing respect above all else. While their training, professional experience and skills are quite similar across a broad range of clinical and research spheres, Kojo is direct and linear in his problem solving and tends to be intrigued by open-ended projects demanding creativity and patience. Megan relies on her intuitive cues and enjoys a wide spectrum of projects ranging from basic science to clinically impactful projects.
“I cannot explain a lot of my rationale, especially to Kojo. I have learned to go with my gut feelings, and he has learned to listen to my instincts,” she explained.
Kojo added, “We allow each other to take ourselves out of our comfort zones. I listen to Megan carefully, all the while trusting our visions and methodologies. But we always meet challenges with mutual respect.”
How does a couple who have worked side by side, day in and day out, for the better part of two decades to unlock the power of genetic knowledge spend their free time?
“I generally don’t enjoy myself when I am not in Megan’s company. I am a homebody. If I didn’t need to leave the apartment I wouldn’t,” Kojo admitted.
But Kojo lets Megan’s adventurous soul and exploratory nature draw him out. For the last eight summers they have traveled to Italy, spending their 10-year anniversary in Venice.
“Italians know how to enjoy themselves and Italy appeals to our sense of beauty and history, we are inspired by the architecture, the exceptional culinary offerings and libations, and the warmth of the people.”
What is next for this dynamic duo?
“The best is ahead of us. Being at Penn has allowed us to continue to build on our dreams through powerful collaborations. We have so much more to do and are looking forward to doing it here.”