Igor Branovan and his parents fled the Soviet Union when he was 13 years old, because anti-Semitic quotas on the number of Jews admitted to higher education limited opportunity. In America, Branovan became a surgeon.
While completing his residency, he recognized a high rate of thyroid cancer in New York’s Russian-speaking neighborhoods. Branovan attributed this phenomenon to radiation exposure during the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine in 1986. He now aggressively campaigns to have cancer research institutions focus more attention and resources on the problem.
Branovan’s involvement with America’s Russian Jews quickly expanded to a broader concern with the group’s integration into American life.
At age 36, he has emerged as a community leader whose appreciation for the opportunities new immigrants find in America is complemented by a desire to preserve the rich heritage that they bring with them.
