Chitra Priya Emperumal received her dental degree from India and has long held a passion for cancer care, prevention/research and community activities. After a few years of dental practice, Dr. Emperumal pursued her interest in cancer prevention and research at the British Columbia Cancer Agency/University of British Columbia where she actively participated in research and worked with a team of dental, oral pathology and medicine specialists organizing community outreach programs for screening of oral mucosal lesions/dysplasia/HPV related cancers in diverse ethnicities.
After this experience, Dr. Emperumal began a masters in orofacial pain and oral medicine at University of Southern California (USC) and also completed an Oral Medicine and Oncology externship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. During her studies, she also pursued her research training at the Mayo Clinic in the Department of Otolaryngology where she gained exposure to translational research and worked on research projects including radiation induced xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients and other head and neck oncology related projects. She presented the work at international conferences and symposiums.
After finishing her master’s, Dr. Emperumal did a residency in orofacial pain at USC and catered to patients with orofacial pain, temporomandibular disorders and dental sleep disorders and rotated in various medical departments, including attending the Keck head and neck tumor board and attended many pain/headache/head and neck cancer conferences. She was awarded Phi Kappa Phi membership for academic excellence.
Dr. Emperumal is looking forward to continuing her education as an oral medicine resident and further her knowledge in oral medicine/oncology. Her long-term goal is to develop expertise in Oral Medicine in combination with an orofacial pain component, with an emphasis on translational/clinical research and work with a care team, treating patients with medical disorders, including those with oncological complications.
During her leisure time, Dr. Emperumal does yoga, meditation, gardening, reading novels and attending toastmasters.
