AACE Executive Council

Officers

(ending year of term noted in parentheses)

President: Michelle Williams, PhD, MSPH, MPH, MCHES (2023)

Dr. Williams earned a bachelor of science degree and a master's of public health at Florida A&M University. She earned a PhD in health behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. She completed her postdoctoral training in the UAB-VA Health Services, Outcomes, and Effectiveness Research training program, during which she also earned a master of science of public health in health outcomes.

Dr. Williams’ research is focused on developing population-specific health behavior interventions for cancer prevention and control that will lead to a reduction in cancer disparities. Since 2009, Dr. Williams has been conducting research in Ghana, West Africa, that is focused on cervical cancer prevention. Dr. Williams is also currently working on a study that is aimed at investigating the nutrition environments of breast cancer survivors in the Deep South. She looks forward to collaborating with investigators and students across campus on research aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

President-Elect: John "Juan" Luque, PhD, MPH (2023)

John (Juan) Luque, PhD, MPH is Professor in the Institute of Public Health in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Luque earned his MPH (epidemiology), and PhD (medical anthropology) from the University of South Florida, and postdoctoral training in behavioral oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. He previously held faculty positions at the Medical University of South Carolina and Georgia Southern University, where he was a tenured Associate Professor. Dr. Luque’s research interests include community-based cancer education interventions to impact health disparities in medically underserved or racial/ethnic minority populations, knowledge and beliefs around cancer screening and prevention, and occupational safety practices among Hispanic farmworkers. This research has been supported by NIH and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. With Levi Ross, he co-edited a special issue on cancer prevention and control and African Americans for the Journal of Cancer Education. Dr. Luque has served on NIH review panels and has published over 70 scientific papers in anthropology, medicine, and public health. He is currently a Fellow for the Society for Applied Anthropology and a former Executive Board Member of the Society for Medical Anthropology. Additional Information (FAMU website).

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Vice President: Melissa Thomas, PhD, MSPH, MSA, MCHES (2023)

Dr. Thomas’s career has always centered on addressing the health needs of communities by designing, implementing and evaluating community-led health education and promotion initiatives, especially around cancer health disparities.  After combining undergraduate degrees in political science, Spanish, and psychology and a graduate degree in administration with a PhD in public health, Melissa has been able to lay the foundation of a diverse education experience that has truly strengthened her commitment to developing interventions aimed at improving the health of communities through changing behavior and systems.  Her true research passion centers on efforts to address the burden of disease in rural and Appalachia Ohio. Dr. Thomas established a community-led nonprofit organization, called the Center for Appalachia Research in Cancer Education (CARE), to provide a framework to guide her research initiatives.  The Amish and Mennonite Breast Health Project she founded, called Project Hoffnung ("Hope" in German), has served over 7,500 Amish and Mennonite women over a period of 24 years with women’s health care services in some of the most resourced-starved sections of the state and is now a multi-state initiative that continues to reach two of the world’s largest Amish settlements.  Dr. Thomas has successfully trained and continues to hire Amish and Mennonite Community Health Workers throughout Ohio who serve as direct links to the communities they serve. She also was the first to estimate breast cancer incidence and mortality rates among Amish women in Ohio.  In her former role as Founding Director of the Office of Health Equity at one of the largest healthcare providers in the state, Dr. Thomas led a statewide study testing the effectiveness of culturally competent education and healthcare services among Appalachian, Lesbian, Latinx, African American, Amish and Mennonite communities.  Her grant-funding experience has brought over $2 million in research and outreach dollars all dedicated to health disparities initiatives, mostly related to Amish and Mennonite community-led public health programs.

Current research projects include community-engaged cancer research initiatives in Appalachia Ohio and in Amish Country, identifying health outcomes and coping strategies among food insecure individuals in Appalachia, training and utilizing Community Health Workers in improving population health, improving medical education and health care resources for the LGBTQ+ community, and addressing the social determinants of health in rural communities.  

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Secretary: Vanessa Sheppard, PhD (2023)

Dr. Sheppard is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Policy in the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. She also serves as Associate Director for Disparities Research in the Massey Cancer Center and co-leads the Cancer Prevention and Control Program. Prior to joining VCU, Dr. Sheppard was tenured at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where she led studies focused on reducing inequities among cancer survivors through scholarship, teaching and service. Her team has been among the first to develop decision and communication support tools about systemic therapy for newly diagnosed African American, African-born, and Latino women. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society and other entities focused on adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy, improving physical activity in African American survivors, and examining patient-reported factors that influence receipt of recommended systemic therapies. Her long-term goal is to identify modifiable factors that have potential to promote optimal survival for women with breast cancer.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Treasurer: Katie Cueva, ScD, MAT, MPH (2023)

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Members at Large

(ending year of term noted in parentheses)

Kayoll Galbraith Gyan, PhD, RN (2025)

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

James Hamilton, MD (2023)

Dr. James Hamilton is an assistant professor with the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He received his medical degree from the Jefferson Medical College and completed his otolaryngology residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He continued training with a fellowship in Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstruction at Emory University. His interests focus on the comprehensive management of benign and malignant lesions of the head and neck, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, and restoration of cosmesis and function through microvascular reconstruction.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Bret Hassel, PhD (2024)

Dr. Hassel received his PhD in Biochemistry from the Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral studies at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is currently a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Hassel’s mentoring and teaching experience as a PI investigating the innate immune and tumor suppressor functions of RNase-L for over over 20 years led to leadership roles in training, education, and outreach programs that comprise the major components of his current professional activities. He served as Director of the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology graduate program from 2015-22, has taught in sixteen graduate and medical school courses and was named Teacher of the Year in 2013. Dr. Hassel has served on the thesis committees of over 100 students and directly mentored 33 postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate trainees. Most recently, in his role as UMGCCC Assistant Director of Training and Education he has developed and serve as PI or co-I on six NIH-funded programs. These serve middle/high school (UMB CURE, CURE Connections), undergraduate (Nathan Schnaper Intern Program, BUILDII ASCEND), post-baccalaureate (STAR-PREP) and Masters degree (Bridges to the Doctorate) students to form a STEM education pipeline. An overarching goal of these programs is to inspire students from under-represented groups to pursue careers in research and healthcare and increase diversity in the biomedical workforce. He has received three awards recognizing this work in the areas of diversity, inclusion and mentoring and is committed to training the next generation of researchers and healthcare providers.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Tina Papadakos, MA(Ed) (2025)

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Georgia Robins Sadler, BSN, MBA, PhD (2023)

Georgia Robins Sadler, BSN, MBA, PhD has been on the faculty of the UCSD School of Medicine since the late 70’s. She has been involved in multiple areas of research, all with a common focus on creating and testing ways to reduce the nation’s cancer disparities. Among the cancer education programs she has created and proven the efficacy of, are those based in African American beauty salons, Asian grocery stores, and churches, and as well as a nationwide cancer education program for the Deaf community and programs for those who serve them. She has also helped to address the nation’s cancer disparities by creating and testing programs to increase the diversity of members of the research and health care professions. She has been a member of the American Association for Cancer Education since the early 1980s, always attending annual meetings and routinely bringing a cohort of student scientists with her to present their research findings. She has received numerous grant awards from the National Cancer Institute and also served as a permanent member of the NCI’s Study Section G, and as its Chair for two years. She served as the president of the California Division of the American Cancer Society and has received numerous awards recognizing her professional and volunteer contributions, including AACE’s own Margaret Hay Edwards Award.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Saima Saleem, PhD (2024)

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Chair, Advisory Committee (Immediate Past President)

Jill Hamilton, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAACE (2023)

Jill Hamilton, RN, PhD, FAAN, FAACE is Associate Professor and Senior Faculty Fellow of SDOH & Health Disparities at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Affiliate Professor at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  Dr. Hamilton earned her BSN, MSN, and PhD in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a BS in Accounting from North Carolina Central University, and postdoctoral training in the nursing care of older adults at the Oregon Health & Science University. She previously held faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was tenured Associate Professor.  Dr. Hamilton’s research interests include social determinants of health, health disparities, and the mental health promoting strategies used among older African American their families in response to life-threatening illness.  Dr. Hamilton is published on topics related to culture, social support, religiosity, spirituality, and quality of life among African Americans with life-threatening illness. She has done original research on the effects of Storytelling that incorporates religious songs and scripture on psychological distress among older and younger African Americans. The findings from this research are published in Cancer Nursing, the Journal of Religion and Health, the Gerontologist, and Nursing Research. She was a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar from 2003-2007 and a member of the 2014 Class of the UNC Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholars. Dr. Hamilton is currently a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a Faculty Scholar of the Center for Spirituality, Theology & Health at Duke University.  She was the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina and the 2011 Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Publishing’s Division Award for Excellence in Writing Qualitative Research. Dr. Hamilton’s work on religious songs was featured in the November 2012 Thanksgiving edition of Good Housekeeping magazine. 

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

EACE President

Filipe Santos Silva, PhD

Filipe Santos Silva holds a PhD in Human Biology and a Master’s in Oncobiology from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. He is a researcher at i3S – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health and leads the Public Awareness of Cancer Unit at IPATIMUP. As an affiliate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, he mentored post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate trainees. As a guest researcher professor at Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, he developed projects for cancer prevention education in Omaha schools. Reviewer of several scientific journals and recently nominated Associate Editor of the Journal of Cancer Education. LEGO Serious Play certified facilitator and consultant for innovation units and health start-ups. Member of national and international evaluation panels (MEDEA, ISEF) on health and science promotion. Successfully led an extensive portfolio of cancer prevention education projects, creating the innovative concept of training teachers to deliver impactful cancer prevention campaigns in schools and local communities. Current interests are focused on developing new cancer education models based on innovative methodologies that address the communication gap between health professionals and cancer patients.

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Ex-Officio Members

Erika Ginsburg, MA, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Nastaran Zahir, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD

Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose