January 23, 2026. Today, BG Lab is excited to announce our first BG Lab Cancer Groundshot Fellow, Dr. Syeda Mina.
Dr. Mina is a hematology and medical oncology fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and will be graduating in July. She completed her medical training at Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia, and her internal medicine residency at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Take some time to get to know more about Dr. Mina and the Cancer Groundshot Fellowship below.
Q: How did you come across this opportunity?
A: While global oncology efforts are increasingly recognized, much of the work still happens in silos, making mentorship difficult to access—especially as a trainee. This led me to reach out to ASCO Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Julie Gralow somewhat out of the blue. She was incredibly generous with her time, listened to my interests, and helped connect me with the right people. Dr. Gyawali has been a prolific researcher in this space, with a strong focus on South Asia, and Dr. Gralow specifically introduced us given the alignment in our interests.
Q: Why did you apply to this fellowship?
A: From my first conversation with Dr. Gyawali, I knew I wanted to work with him and have him as a core mentor. Given the geographic distance, I initially approached him about joining his lab meetings virtually to better understand his work and learn from the group. It was serendipitous that he was already developing a virtual fellowship program. The timing couldn’t have been better, and I was eager to become the inaugural fellow as soon as the opportunity came up.
Q: What do you want to gain from this experience?
A: I want my work to be firmly rooted in the cancer groundshot philosophy, which I believe is essential to impactful global oncology. This fellowship will help me sharpen my critical appraisal skills and better identify cancer therapies that offer meaningful benefit and are realistically implementable in low- and middle-income countries.
Q: What are you most excited about?
A: I am particularly passionate about improving the lung cancer care landscape in Bangladesh. I’m most excited about the possibility that my work, over time, can have a meaningful impact on patients who face the same cancer burden and anxiety as others but experience worse outcomes simply because of where they live. Being able to contribute, even in a small way, toward reducing that inequity is deeply motivating.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: My goal is to help oncologists in Bangladesh and other LMICs answer critical, practice-relevant questions. These could be addressed through building capacity for patient registries, supporting evidence generation, or helping design clinical trials that are contextually appropriate and impactful.
Q: To get to know the human side of you: hobbies, favourite books, favourite movies?
A: I try to live by the idea that life is too short for regrets. Whenever time allows, I love to travel—especially road trips. My 11-month-old has already been on 27 flights (and counting)! Thanks to my husband’s automotive interests, car shows—and more recently, following Formula 1—have also become part of my life.
My favorite book is Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. I’m not much of a movie person, but I enjoy biographical documentaries. Some of my favorites include The Last Dance and RBG, the documentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Click here for more information about BG Lab Fellowship opportunities.
Make sure you are subscribed to the BG Lab website to hear about exciting updates like this and more!
Dr. Bishal Gyawali 
Leave a comment