Diversity & IncluSion in Research Underpinning Prevention & Therapy Trials

Nina Bickell, MD, MPH, has spent the past 20 years focusing on underlying reasons for disparities in the quality of cancer care many BIPOC patients get and designing different approaches to improve their cancer care. Dr. Bickell is a member of the senior leadership team at The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI).

My research focuses on building community-academic partnerships that can reduce barriers and improve standard of care.

Parisa Tehranifar, DrPH is a cancer epidemiologist and health disparities researcher. Her research focuses on improving the implementation of breast cancer screening and prevention in racially and ethnically diverse, immigrant and underserved communities. 

​David Lounsbury is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and Associate Director of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. As a community psychologist and a systems scientist, David designs and conducts research that strives to strengthen community partnerships to improve the way health care works in the Bronx and beyond.  

Dr. Hubbard is a molecular biologist who studies gene expression during cellular aging.  Her research focuses on RNA metabolism during aging and the relationship between cell death (apoptosis) and aging.

My research interests are in lung cancer and cancers with special difficulties repairing damage to their DNA. I develop clinical trials using novel agents targeting DNA repair, bringing these drugs directly to my patients in the clinic. 

Mary Beth Terry, PhD, focuses her research on environmental modifiers of cancer risk. She is the Director of Community Outreach and Engagement with the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She has spent over 20 years leading studies of cancer risk reduction in local communities and around the world.  

Dr. Hillyer’s expertise lies in the applied use of behavioral theory to investigate multilevel
psychological, social, and cultural factors impacting health behavior among underrepresented
and underserved populations and the application of mixed research methodology to construct
and implement tailored educational interventions.