Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D.

[email protected]
(877) 460-4673
Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D.
Thoracic Surgeon; Vice President, Chief Health Access and Community Enrichment Officer
Clinical Expertise
  • Lung Cancer
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Thymoma
  • Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Robotic Surgery
Research Area
  • Healthcare Disparities and Inequities
Academic Appointments
  • Associate Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery
  • Associate Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Science
Clinical Teams
Lung Cancer
Surgery — Thoracic and Lung
Additional Contacts
  • Referring Physicians/Colleagues
    (626) 218-0288

Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D., F.A.C.S., is the Vice President and Chief Health Access and Community Enrichment Officer at City of Hope (COH) Medical Center. In this role, she leads the development and implementation of strategy that addresses health disparities and that fosters inclusion across the COH enterprise. She is a trained thoracic surgeon-scientist whose work focuses on addressing lung cancer disparities and advancing health equity, particularly for African American and underserved populations. Dr. Erhunmwunsee leads a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded R37 grant investigating how adverse social determinants of health (SDOH), including structural racism, influence cancer biology and recurrence rates in African American lung cancer patients. Her groundbreaking research examines the complex interplay between systemic inequities and cancer outcomes, providing new insights into how SDOH impact disease progression. With extensive expertise in developing lung cancer screening (LCS) programs at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Dr. Erhunmwunsee has led multiple studies aimed at enhancing provider training and practice facilitation for LCS implementation. She also directs innovative efforts to create SDOH-informed machine learning models that predict LCS adherence in minoritized communities, facilitating personalized navigation strategies to improve screening outcomes. Dr. Erhunmwunsee is deeply committed to patient-centered care, advancing evidence-based practices, and fostering equitable access to early detection and treatment. Through her leadership and dedication, Dr. Erhunmwunsee continues to drive progress in reducing lung cancer disparities, creating more equitable healthcare systems, and improving outcomes for historically marginalized populations.

Location

Education & Experience

Board Certifications

  • 2016-present, American Board of Thoracic Surgery - Active
  • 2013-present, American Board of Surgery

Degrees

  • 2005, M.D., Doctor of Medicine, Magna Cum Laude, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 2000, B.A., Chemistry and Music, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Fellowship

  • 2012-2015, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Residency

  • 2011-2012, Chief, General Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
  • 2006-2011, General Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Internship

  • 2005-2006, General Surgery Intern, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Professional Experience

  • 2025-present, Vice President, Chief Health Access and Community Enrichment Officer, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2023-present, Associate Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte and South Pasadena, CA
  • 2019-2023, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, CA
  • 2015-present, Assistant Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte and South Pasadena, CA

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2021, Selected by the Los Angeles Business Journal as Top Doctor 2021

  • 2015, Peter C. Pairolero Scholar – General Thoracic Surgical Club
    Medical Center

  • 2014, Feagin Leadership Scholar, Duke University Medical Center

  • 2014, Leaders in Medicine Concentration, Duke University Medical Center

  • 2014, NIH/NMA Academic Career in Medicine Fellow

  • 2014, AATS Graham Foundation Intuitive Surgical Fellowship

  • 2009, World Congress on Lung Cancer Young Investigator’s Award

  • 2005, Co-moderator, Harvard Medical School Class of 2005 Graduation Day

  • 2003, Harvard Aesculapian Club Inductee

  • 2003, Sarnoff Endowment for Cardiovascular Science Research Fellowship

  • 1999, Phi Beta Kappa

  • 1996, Woodruff Scholarship, Emory University Full Merit-Based Scholarship

Memberships

  • Vice Chair of the NCCN DEI Directors Forum

  • Women in Thoracic Surgery, Active Member

  • Society of Thoracic Surgery, Active Member

  • American Association for Cancer Research, Active Member

Publications

  • Erhunmwunsee L, Wing SE, Shen J, Hu H, Sosa E, Lopez LN, Raquel C, Sur M, Ibarra-Noriega P, Currey M, Lee J, Kim JY, Raz DJ, Amini A, Sampath S, Koczywas M, Massarelli E, West HL, Reckamp KL, Kittles RA, Salgia R, Seewaldt VL, Neuhausen SL, Gray SW. The Association between Polluted Neighborhoods and TP53-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021 Jun 4: cebp.1555.2020. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1555. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34088750.
  • Sosa E, D'Souza G, Akhtar A, Sur M, Love K, Duffels J, Raz DJ, Kim JY, Sun V, Erhunmwunsee L. Racial and socioeconomic disparities in lung cancer screening in the United States: A systematic review. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021 May 20. doi: 10.3322/caac.21671. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34015860.
  • Erhunmwunsee L, Seewaldt VL, Rebbeck TR, Winn RA. From COVID-19 to cancer, watching social determinants decide life: When will we stop spectating? J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Mar 13:S0027-9684(21)00029-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.02.003. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33726916.
  • Chau B, Ituarte PH, Shinde A, Li R, Vazquez J, Glaser S, Massarelli E, Salgia R, Erhunmwunsee L, Ashing K, Amini A. Disparate outcomes in nonsmall cell lung cancer by immigration status. Cancer Med. 2021 Apr;10(8):2660-2667. doi: 10.1002/cam4.3848. Epub 2021 Mar 18. PMID: 33734614; PMCID: PMC8026917.
  • Liu J, Hui C, Ladbury C, Waddington T, Erhunmwunsee L, Raz DJ, Kim JY, Salgia R, Chenery S, Pearlstein D, Schwer A, Amini A. Improved Survival Outcomes in Medically Fit Patients With Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. Clin Lung Cancer. 2021 Jan 19:S1525-7304(21)00006-1. doi: 10.1016/j.cllc.2021.01.003. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33712362.
  • Frankhauser DE, Jovanovic-Talisman T, Lai L, Yee LD, Wang LV, Mahabal A, Geradts J, Rockne RC, Tomsic J, Jones V, Sistrunk C, Miranda-Carboni G, Dietze EC, Erhunmwunsee L, Hyslop T, Seewaldt VL. Spatiotemporal strategies to identify aggressive biology in precancerous breast biopsies. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Bio Med. 2020 Oct.
  • Blakely AM, Hu H, Wong FL, Raz D, Erhunmwunsee L, Kim JY, Sun V. Deterioration in health-related quality of life is associated with lower lung resection rates in older adults. J Geriatr Oncol. 2020 Sep 12.
  • Blakely AM, Hu H, Wong FL, Raz DJ, Erhunmwunsee L, Sun V, Kim JY. Deterioration in health-related quality of life diminishes benefit of lung cancer resection in older adults. Clin Lung Cancer. 2020 July 3.
  • Erhunmwunsee L, Bhandari P, Sosa E, Sur M, Ituare PHG, Lui NS. Socioeconomic, rural, and insurance-based inequities in robotic lung cancer resections. Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery. 2020 June; 5.
  • Mambetsariev I, Wang Y, Chen C, Nadaf S, Pharaon R, Fricke J, Amanam I, Amini A, Bild A, Chu P, Erhunmwunsee L, Kim JY, Munu J, Pillai R, Raz DJ, Sampath S, Vora L, Qiu F, Smith L, Batra SK, Massarelli E, Koczywas M, Reckamp K, Salgia R. Precision Medicine and Actionable Alterations in Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Experience. PLoS One. 2020 Feb 11 ; 15(2):e0228188. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228188. eCollection 2020. PMID: 32045431
  • Lafaro KJ, Raz DJ, Kim JY, Hite S, Ruel N, Varatkar G, Erhunmwunsee L, Melstrom LG, Lee B, Singh G, Fong Y, Sun V. Pilot study of a telehealth perioperative physical activity intervention for older adults with cancer and their caregivers. Support Care Cancer. 2019 Dec 16. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-05230-0. PMID: 31845007
  • Cohen RG, Kumar SR, Lin J, Reddy RM, Kane L, Bagley J, Juarez A, Fleischman F, Farkas EA, Hackmann AE, Grubb KJ, Reddy S, Erhunmwunsee L, Villamizar NR, Masood MF, Griffin M, Boden N. The Disparity Between Public Utilization and Surgeon Awareness of the STS Patient Education Website. Ann Thorac Surg. 2019 Nov 19. pii: S0003-4975(19)31700-X. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2019.09.074. PMID: 31756317
  • Erhunmwunsee L, Backhus LM, Godoy L, Edwards MA, Cooke DT. (2019) Report from the Workforce on Diversity & Inclusion - Society of Thoracic Surgeons Members' Bias Experiences. Ann Thorac Surg. 2019 Nov;108(5):1287-1291. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2019.08.015. PMID: 31520637
  • Wu Gx, Ituarte PHG, Ferrell B, Sun V, Erhunmwunsee L, Raz DJ, Kim JY. (2019) Causes of Death and Hospitalization in Long-term Lung Cancer Survivors: A Population-based Appraisal. Clin Lung Cancer. 2019 Aug 30. pii: S1525-7304(19)30256-6. doi: 10.1016/j.cllc.2019.08.007. PMID: 31591032
  • Sun V, Raz DJ, Erhunmwunsee L, Ruel N, Carranza J, Prieto R, Ferrell B, Krouse RS, McCorkle R, Kim JY. (2019) Improving family caregiver and patient outcomes in lung cancer surgery: Study protocol for a randomized trial of the multimedia self-management (MSM) intervention. Contemp Clin Trials. 2019 Aug;83:88-96. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2019.07.002 PMID: 31279090
  • Shinde A, Horne ZD, Li R, Glaser S, Massarelli E, Koczywas M, Erhunmwunsee L, Reckamp KL, Weksler B, Salgia R, Beriwal S, Armini A. (2019) Optimal adjuvant therapy in clinically N2 non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery: The importance of pathological response and lymph node ratio. Lung Cancer. 2019 Jul;133:136-143. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2019.05.020. PMID: 31200820
  • Hill A, Gong J, Wilczynski S, Mirza R, Erhunmwunsee L, Salgia R. (2018) Complete Pathologic Response When Adding Pembrolizumab to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Stage IIIA Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. J Oncol Pract. 2018 Sep;14(9):569-571. doi: 10.1200/JOP.18.00127. Epub 2018 Jul 25. PubMed PMID: 30044685.
  • Sun V, Kim JY, Raz DJ, Chang W, Erhunmwunsee L, Uranga C, Ireland AM, Reckamp K, Tiep B, Hayter J, Lew M, Ferrell B, McCorkle R. (2018) Preparing Cancer Patients and Family Caregivers for Lung Surgery: Development of a Multimedia Self-Management Intervention. J Cancer Educ. 2018 Jun. 33(3):557-563. doi: 10.1007/s13187-016-1103-5
  • Eng OS, Kim JY, Ruel N, Raz DJ, Erhunmwunsee L, Melstrom LG, Chao J, Woo Y, Kim J, Sun V. (2018) Quality of Life, Symptoms, and Self-Management Strategies After Gastroesophageal Cancer Surgery. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2018 May 10. pii: S0885-3924(18)30234-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.05.001. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29753100.
  • Eng OS, Nelson RA, Konstantinidis I, Chao J, Erhunmwunsee L, Raz DJ, Kim JY. (2018) Disparities in survival after trimodality therapy for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Dis Esophagus. 2018 Mar 8. doi: 10.1093/dote/doy020. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29534155.
  • Erhunmwunsee L, Gulack BC, Rushing C, Niedzwiecki D, Berry MF, Hartwig MG. (2017) Socioeconomic Status, Not Race, is Associated with Reduced Survival in Esophagectomy Patients. Ann Thor Surg. 2017 July; 104 (1): 234-244.
  • Raz DJ, Clancy SL, Erhunmwunsee L (2017) Surgical Management of the Radiated Chest Wall and Its Complications. Thorac Surg Clin. 2017 May;27(2):171-179. doi: 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2017.01.011. Epub 2017 Mar 1. Review. PubMed PMID: 28363372; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5380165.
  • Castleberry AW, Bishawi M, Worni M, Erhunmwunsee L, Speicher PJ, Osho AA, Snyder LD, Hartwig MG. (2017) Medication Nonadherence After Lung Transplantation in Adult Recipients. Ann Thorac Surg. 2017 Jan;103(1):274-280.
  • Sun V, Raz DJ, Ruel N, Chang W, Erhunmwunsee L, Reckamp K, Tiep B, Ferrell B, McCorkle R, Kim JY. (2017) Multimedia Self-management Intervention to Prepare Cancer Patients and Family Caregivers for Lung Surgery and Postoperative Recovery. Clin Lung Cancer. 2017 Feb 2. Epub ahead of print.
  • Waldron NH, Dallas T, Erhunmwunsee L, Wang T, Berry MF, Welsby IJ. (2017) Bleeding risk associated with eptifibatide (Integrilin) bridging in thoracic surgery patients. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2017 Feb;43(2):194-202.

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
5.0
Recommend this provider office
5.0
Provider explain in way you understand
5.0
Provider listen carefully to you
5.0
Know important info medical history
5.0
Show respect for what you say
5.0
Spend enough time with you
4.9
Rate provider 0-10
08/30/24
She took time to show me both my CT scans side by side and to explain the masses. I felt relieved by her confidence is knowing it was not cancer or an infection. I was happy with her follow up plan and referral. - Verified patient
08/25/24
Dr. E is the ABSOLUTE best doctor I have ever had. She cares, she listens, she is knowledgeable, she looks you straight in the eye---overall she is just such a professional. I am truly blessed to have had her as my surgeon. - Verified patient
08/19/24
Dr. Loretta thoroughly explains CT results and includes me in the next steps process. She is frank with the results and shares the facts of them and gives me options on how to proceed. We make that decision together. - Verified patient
06/29/24
Great doctor - Verified patient
06/26/24
Dr. Erhunmwunsee, Dr. E, is a fantastic doctor. I feel that she sincerely cared for me. This was demonstrated by the explanation that she gave about the results of my ct-scan of my lungs. Dr. "E" indicated what she saw, which was something small on my lung. She told me her approach about seeing what the small speck was. [...] Dr. "E" gave her professional opinion. The outcome was not to do anything else at this time. Everything about City of Hope was great. Dr. "E", the nurses, imaging equipment, admissions, and even the valet service. Giving each department a 5 for excellent service. Thank you City of Hope. I am truly grateful!!! - Verified patient