Shikha Jain, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of Oncology Communications and Digital Innovation at University of Illinois Cancer Center and Founder of Women in Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
“In 2018, I was preparing to start a new role as a gastrointestinal oncologist at a new institution. I emailed Dr. Rachna Shroff for advice.
She had little reason to know who I was, much less to invest time in my career. She responded with thoughtful, detailed guidance that helped me navigate those first months.
I have never forgotten that.
Rachna was an internationally recognized expert in cholangiocarcinoma, chief of hematology and oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, a mentor and sponsor to many, and a mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend. What began as one email grew into a friendship I deeply valued. Over the years she was a guest on Oncology Overdrive, we served together on the Healio Women in Oncology board, and I had the honor of presenting her with the Woman Disruptive Innovator award at ASCO 2023.
When I asked her friends and colleagues to share their memories for Women in Medicine, I noticed how many began the same way: with Rachna making the first move. A message saying ‘We need to meet.” A reply to someone she barely knew. A mentor’s introduction she turned into a lifelong friendship.
There is a lesson in that for all of us in academic medicine. We often describe mentorship as a formal relationship built over years. Rachna showed that it can begin with a single reply, before any relationship exists. That kind of generosity rarely shows up in a promotion dossier, yet it shapes careers and, over time, an entire field.
Even while facing cancer herself, she helped bring together more than 600 donors to raise over $1.35 million for the Conquer Cancer Rachna Shroff, Endowed Young Investigator Award in Biliary Cancers. The award will fund a new investigator every year, in perpetuity. She had received a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award early in her own career, and she knew what that support could make possible.
I wrote two pieces in her honor:
- In Healio, I reflect on what her generosity meant to me.
- For Women in Medicine, Dr. Nina Shah, Dr. Katie Kelley, Dr. Nilofer Azad and Dr. Aparna Parikh share their memories in their own words.
Answer the email. Make the introduction. Share your memories of Rachna below. Tell a colleague what she means to you.”
You can also read: Remembering Rachna Shroff: The Sunshine She Leaves Behind 
