Colditz Honored with AACR Distinguished Cancer Disparities Lectureship

Graham A. Colditz, MD, DrPH, Neiss-Gain Professor of Surgery, chief of the Division of Public Health Sciences and associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center, was awarded the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.

This lectureship acknowledges researchers whose work has had broad impact on cancer health disparities. An internationally renowned expert in breast cancer etiology and prevention, Colditz has received multiple honors and acknowledgement for his caliber as a researcher and his contribution to the field. He currently leads Siteman’s nationally recognized Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD). This program is a national model of community engagement and institutional change addressing cancer disparities in the Cancer Center’s catchment. PECaD provides outreach, education, communications and screening support, and monitors and improves minority accrual to research studies.

In collaboration with other faculty in the Division of Public Health Sciences, Colditz has led implementation programs in north St. Louis, central Missouri, the Bootheel and the Mississippi Valley. A number of these areas are underserved communities with some of the highest cancer mortality rates in the United States. Colditz’s leadership has led to the development of programs in colorectal cancer, implementation science and lung cancer screening, to name a few.