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LACRC Investigators
Dr. Elmer Huerta
Elmer E. Huerta, MD, MPH is the Principal Investigator (PI) and a member of the LACRC Steering Committee. He strengthens this project through his pioneering work using the media to create a Cancer Prevention and Control Program. His clinic at the Washington Cancer Institute in the Washington Hospital Center is one the very few cancer prevention/screening services for Latinos in the Washington, DC metro area. Through his educational work, Dr. Huerta has developed a high degree of respect and trust in the Hispanic community at the local, national, and international level. To learn more about Dr. Huerta and the Preventorium, please visit: http://www.whcenter.org/body.cfm?id=556912
Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt
Jeanne Mandelblatt, MD, MPH, is Associate Director for Population Sciences at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She also serves as the Director of the Division of Health Outcomes and Health Behaviors in the Department of Oncology. She is also a Professor of Oncology and Medicine and a Master of Public Health (MPH). Dr. Mandelblatt is interested in the biology of breast cancer and aging. She also is a geriatrician with training in cancer epidemiology and health services research and is involved in the Aging Initiative of the Georgetown University Center for Population and Health. In addition, she was the primary force behind winning a $1 million gift from Avon to develop a comprehensive breast cancer clinic (The Capital Breast Cancer Center) for low-income residents in the southeast section of Washington, DC. To learn more about Dr. Mandelblatt, please visit: http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/mandelbj/
Dr. Amanda Graham
Amanda L. Graham, PhD, is the Associate Director for Research Development at the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies. Dr. Graham also holds an appointment as Assistant Professor (Adjunct) in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center and is a member of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is currently Principal Investigator of an NCI-funded R01 that tests the effectiveness of a widely disseminated smoking cessation Internet program (QuitNet.com) alone and in conjunction with proactive telephone counseling. This is the first large-scale randomized trial to address the efficacy of combined Internet and phone cessation interventions. Dr. Graham was also recently awarded an NCI-funded R21 to develop effective methods to recruit Latino smokers to web-based smoking cessation programs. Dr. Graham also serves as Project Mentor on an NCI-funded pilot project awarded to investigators at Georgetown University. To learn more about Dr. Graham, please visit: http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/alg45/
Dr. Kristi Graves
Dr. Graves received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She completed post-doctoral training at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Graves is an Assistant Professor of Oncology and in the Cancer Control Program. Dr. Graves is involved in research related to exploring the factors that contribute to Latina breast cancer survivors' quality of life. Through this work, Dr. Graves and her team have partnered with local and national community organizations and support groups that provide services to Latina breast cancer survivors. The project will be completed in April 2010. The results will be shared with community agencies and Latina breast cancer survivors to discuss the best ways to use the information to improve services for Latina cancer patients and survivors. To learn more about this study, visit: http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/research/programs/cc/qualityoflife.html
Dr. Barbara Kreling
Dr. Kreling has conducted many studies in end of life care, including studies of hospice families and patients. She was the survey director for the Study to Understand Patient Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatment (SUPPORT), a landmark study of end-of-life care. Dr. Kreling also worked with Dr. Teno in creation of the Toolkit to Measure End of Life Care. As a consultant to the American Hospice Foundation (AHF), Dr. Kreling led the development of a hospice consumer report card, identifying domains of quality of care by interviewing family members, patients, hospice professionals, and care planners. She is currently serving on AHF’s Technical Expert Panel to develop quality care reporting for hospice. More recently, Dr. Kreling was the PI of an NCI-funded pilot grant through the LACRC using grounded theory to study Latina breast cancer patients and their caregivers. Building on this foundation, Dr. Kreling was awarded additional NCI-funding through the LACRC to conduct two qualitative Studies of Latino and Whites Bereaved Caregivers. With additional funding from the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Kreling has been conducting a qualitative study with bereaved Latino cancer caregivers to validate specific findings from the earlier study comparing Latinos and Whites. To learn more about this pilot, please visit: http://crchd.cancer.gov/cnp/pi-huerta-pilot-latinos.html
Dr. Maria Lopez-Class
Maria Lopez-Class, PhD, M.P.H., is a research instructor in the Department of Oncology, has worked with minority populations for over 10 years and has experience with community outreach services and health-related research. In general, Dr. Lopez-Class has worked on numerous projects that addressed psychosocial factors and disparities among Latinos. Her knowledge base in Public Health and Social Welfare will enable her to conduct research that relates to health disparities and cancer. To learn more about Dr. Lopez-Class, email:ml473@georgetown.edu.
Dr. Vanessa Sheppard
Dr. Sheppard is a Cancer Control scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. As a National Institute of Health Disparities Scholar, her long-term career goal is to help reduce the unequal burden of cancer experienced by minority women through scholarship and service. She has received federal and private funding to pursue this goal. Her work is primarily focused on African American, African Immigrant, and Latina populations. It is focused on examining factors that contribute to disparate treatment outcomes such as patient-provider relationships, informed decision-making, and genetic counseling and testing. Dr. Sheppard has been fortunate to have her work presented at numerous professional meetings and published in scientific journals. In 2001, she was awarded the prestigious Herbert Nickens, MD award for outstanding junior faculty from the American Association of Medical Colleges. In 2008, she received inaugural funding from the Fisher Center for her study, “Understanding Barriers and Motivators to African American Women’s Participation in Genetic Counseling and Testing.” To view a recent article about Dr. Sheppard’s work, please visit: http://gumc.georgetown.edu/news/70170.html
