Imo J. Akpan, M.D. graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Chemistry. Prior to enrolling in medical school she was involved in iron biology research at the Children's Hospital Boston where she helped to describe a mouse-model for anemia of inflammation by studying the role of hepcidin in iron homeostasis. Dr. Akpan received her medical degree from The University of Illinois (UIC) at Chicago College of Medicine and received "The Michael and Kate Bárány Research Award" for research supported by the American Society of Hematology and the UIC Craig Research Award. Dr. Akpan then enrolled in the Physician-Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University/McGaw Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois where she did her residency in internal medicine and her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. Subsequently, she did an Advanced Hematology/Oncology Research fellowship as a K12 Physician Scientist Scholar at The University of Chicago Medical Center where she also worked as a Clinical Instructor. Dr.