Cancer Health Equity Research

Volume editor:   Marvella E. Ford (Department of Public Health Sciences and Hollings Cancer Center Medical University of South Carolina Charleston SC USA), Judith Salley (Chairperson of the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences at South Carolina State University (SCSU)), Nestor Esnaola
Imprint:   Academic Press Inc
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm, 
ISBN:   9780128201763
ISBN 10:   0128201762
Pages:   312
Publication Date:   31 March 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Dr. Marvella E. Ford is a tenured Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Medicine. Dr. Ford is the Associate Director of Population Sciences and Cancer Disparities at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI)-designated MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. She also serves as the SmartState Endowed Chair in Cancer Disparities, Prostate Cancer Disparities Center of Economic Excellence at South Carolina State University (SCSU). Dr. Ford received her master of science in social psychology, master of social work in policy and planning, and doctor of philosophy degree in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health and aging. Dr. Ford's research interests include cancer disparities, gerontology, and recruitment and retention of diverse populations in clinical trials. Dr. Ford has served as principal investigator for a number of federally-funded research grants focused on cancer disparities. In collaboration with Dr. Judith Salley from SCSU, Dr. Ford led an NIH/NCI U54 grant with the goal of expanding cancer disparities research in South Carolina while cultivating a diverse network of cancer researchers titled, South Carolina Cancer Disparities Research Center (SC CADRE) . This grant provided support for cancer disparities research at MUSC and SCSU, and provided opportunities for underrepresented students and junior faculty to gain training in cancer research methods. In her role as a multiple principal investigator Dr. Ford has led an NIH/NCI-funded Minority Based Community Oncology Research Program together with Drs. Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Carolyn Britten, and David Marshall to increase the participation of diverse participants in cancer research. Dr. Ford has also collaborated with Dr. Nestor Esnaola as a multiple principal investigator of an NIH/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities grant titled Improving Resection Rates among African Americans with NSCLC. The study's goal was to evaluate a strategy to improve rates of receipt of surgery among African Americans with early-stage lung cancer. Dr. Ford has also led several cancer research training programs funded by the NIH/NCI and Department of Defense in collaboration with the University of South Carolina and three historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs) in South Carolina: Claflin University, South Carolina State University, and Voorhees College. To date, Dr. Ford has published more than 95 peer-reviewed scientific papers, many written in collaboration with HBCU undergraduate students, as well as nine book chapters. Dr. Judith Salley is a tenured professor of biology and serves as the chairperson of the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences at South Carolina State University (SCSU). She received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from SC State University and both a Master's and PhD degree in Zoology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Salley, in collaboration with Dr. Marvella Ford from the Medical University of South Carolina, has been instrumental in building strong and enduring partnerships with colleges and universities in the state of South Carolina especially HBCUs, to develop several research and education training programs in cancer disparities for underrepresented students and junior faculty. Drs. Salley and Ford successfully initiate an inter-institutional, P20 CPACHE Planning Center grant, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NCI) titled South Carolina Cancer Disparities Research Center (SC CaDRe), which led to a funded U54 grant tilted South Carolina Cancer Disparities Research Center (SC CADRE). The Center was established to build research capacity and infrastructure at SCSU and to expand cancer disparities research in the state of South Carolina while cultivating a diverse network of cancer researchers. In addition, Dr. Salley serves as a Multiple PI with Dr. Marvella Ford on the SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Prostate Cancer Disparities Research. The Center is designed to develop and test interventions to significantly enhance the participation of African American men in prostate cancer screening and early detection. She is also the principal investigator of the NIH IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program at South Carolina State University. INBRE's goal is to increase biomedical research opportunities and training for faculty and minority undergraduates. Dr. Salley has also served as the principal investigator of the NSF funded SC Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (SC EPSCoR), a grant designed to develop a Master's degree in Bioengineering Sciences at SC State and to address the shortage of underrepresented minorities who pursue the Ph.D. in bioengineering and related fields.