Officers
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(ending year of term noted in parentheses)
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President: Melissa Thomas, PhD, MSPH, MSA, MCHES (2025)
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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.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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President-Elect: James Hamilton, MD (2025)
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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.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Vice President: Angela A. Appiah, PhD, DNP, MPH, RN, COA, FAACM (2025)
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Dr. Appiah is a Fulbright Specialist serving countries globally and an executive administrator for healthcare systems. Her career spans over 25 years. Her expertise is in health systems and services management consulting, program development, accreditation, undergraduate and graduate education, executive administrator for primary care, oncology service line acute and ambulatory, heart failure services, disease prevention/detection, health promotion, navigation, palliative care, and supportive programs such as navigation. As an expert in clinical, operations, research, and evidence-based practice, she focuses on program development, sustainment, implementing science/translational research, and global population health.
Dr. Appiah is an Associate Chief Nursing Officer for the Ambulatory Care Network at James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Pace University College of Health Professions-Health Science & Lienhard School of Nursing Programs. Angela is also an Independent Consultant for Global Pediatric Medicine for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (St. Jude Global), Founder and CEO of Global Population Health Consulting, LLC.
She has worked with diverse countries' ministries of health, non-profit and profit organizations, and programs globally to build capacity and develop and sustain health systems. She has developed and participated in numerous mentoring and coaching programs for diverse organizations. She recently co-authored a chapter on Mentoring and coaching in the book 21st Century Nursing Leadership, edited by Dr. Mary Gullatte. In addition, she has presented and honored to be a keynote speaker numerous times at conferences, events locally, nationally, and globally. Dr. Appiah seeks to reduce the burden of preventable disease and people development among ethically diverse populations globally through evidence-based quality improvement, community-engaged research, and implementation science. She serves on numerous boards globally.
Angela feels her purpose is to transform global health systems, especially those in low-resource areas, and contribute to building healthier communities by promoting healthcare through capacity building, people development, improving disease prevention, program development and sustainment, health promotion, mentoring, coaching, and sponsoring diverse professionals. She is committed to engaging health care delivery services, establishing public health policy, management, regulations, and legislative initiatives, and developing strategies to reduce health disparities to promote health equity globally.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Secretary: Michael Preston, PhD, MPH (2025)
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Dr. Michael A. Preston is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice in the College of Pharmacy at Purdue University and serves as the Assistant Director for the Center for Health Equity and Innovation. His expertise includes the development of health and diversity initiatives that provide roadmaps for engaging communities that tend to be underrepresented, rural, and under-resourced. Dr. Preston has been the principal or co-investigator of multiple funded grants focusing on the implementation of precision public health interventions, cancer health disparities, and health care reform. As a health services researcher, he develops strategies that reduce cancer disparities and examines how provisions of the Affordable Care Act address cancer health disparities among under-resourced, minorities, and underserved communities. In 2021, he launched the RURaL [Reaching the Underserved, Rural, and Low-Income] Lab for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Cancer Disparities to facilitate his research activities.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Treasurer: Aldenise P. Ewing, PhD, MPH, CPH (2025)
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Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University College of Public Health
Community-Engaged Cancer Researcher, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James
Dr. Aldenise Ewing is a dedicated cancer health disparities researcher with a focus on promoting health equity among underserved and minority populations. Over the past decade, her work has concentrated on reducing colorectal cancer disparities, particularly among African American and Latino communities. Her research integrates community-engaged approaches to address cancer prevention, screening, and risk reduction, leveraging partnerships with stakeholders such as the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, and federally qualified healthcare centers.
Dr. Ewing is actively involved in professional organizations, including the American Public Health Association, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, and the American Association for Cancer Education. She is also a proud lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
She holds a PhD in Public Health from the University of South Florida, a Master of Public Health from Emory University, and a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ewing completed postdoctoral training in Behavioral Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center under an NCI T32 fellowship.
Her areas of expertise include cancer prevention, behavioral oncology, health disparities, community-based research, and social determinants of health. She employs strategies such as Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and social technologies to develop and implement interventions that promote cancer prevention and equity.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Members at Large
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(ending year of term noted in parentheses)
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Miklos Fogarasi, MD (2026)
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Dr. Miklos Fogarasi is Associate Professor of Medical Sciences at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, in North Haven, CT.
Dr. Fogarasi received his MD degree "summa cum laude" from Semmelweis University SOM in Budapest, Hungary. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at UMASS-Memorial Campus and a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Yale University. Following a fifteen-year private practice career in hematology-oncology, he is now a full-time medical educator with an interest in oncology, cancer survivorship, active learning strategies and factors influencing the learning climate. He has completed the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in Health Professions in 2018/19.
At Quinnipiac he is involved in creating and teaching cancer related events. His Cancer Survivorship selective offers a multi-professional small-group learning experience. He is block co-director for the Y2 Hematology/Oncology and the Gastroenterology/Endocrinology blocks and serves as a capstone mentor, student interest group advisor and career advisor. He was awarded the school’s Excellence in Medical Sciences Teaching Award in 2023. He is a proud member of AACE and has presented at several annual meetings in the past. |
Disclosure Statement:
Coming soon
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Kayoll Galbraith Gyan, PhD, RN (2025)
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Dr. Kayoll Gyan, PhD, RN is the Associate Director of the Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is also a Nurse Scientist in Medical Oncology and Member of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Her program of research is focused on cervical cancer prevention among African American women, with a specific focus on social cultural determinants of health such as social support networks and religion & spirituality. Dr. Gyan aims to develop culturally and contextually appropriate interventions to improve awareness, knowledge and communication strategies among Black Americans and their healthcare providers regarding cancer prevention and symptom management. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals such as Cancer Causes & Control, Translational Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Religion and Health, Ethnicity & Health, Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Cancer Education, American Journal of Public Health, and Oncology Nursing Forum. She is currently funded by a grant from Northeastern University that focuses on understanding the cervical cancer screening beliefs and practices of Black immigrant women in Massachusetts. She has been funded by a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Cancer Prevention Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute and a Pre-Doctoral Training Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research. Dr. Gyan is a 2021 National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Award recipient and a 2018 National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities - Health Disparities Research Scholar.
Dr. Gyan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and her PhD in Nursing Research from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. |
Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Bret Hassel, PhD (2025)
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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.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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John Kim, EdD, MPH (2026)
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Dr. John Kim is the Education Director for the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network (MCCAN). In this role, he provides leadership, management, and oversight for the development of educational initiatives for oncology providers at 20 affiliate cancer programs across Kentucky. Previous experience includes serving as the Associate Director for the Office of Child Development at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, where he served as Principal Investigator for the Family Foundations Early Head Start program and had oversight for the Early Head Start Governing Board and Policy Council to ensure adherence to program guidelines and strategic direction of the program. Dr. Kim also served as the Associate Director of Communications for Partners for Education at Berea College, where helped implement the Promise Neighborhood grant initiatives to support academic and community development in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. He received his Doctorate in Education from Northern Kentucky University, Masters in Public Health from the University of Kentucky, and Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Louisville.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Ming Lei, PhD (2027)
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Dr. Ming Lei is the Sr. Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Education, WVU Health Sciences Center (WVUHSC), Vice Dean for Research, WVU School of Medicine, and a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology. He oversees WVUHSC’s research and graduate education programs.
Prior to joinging WVU in 2023, Dr. Lei served at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). He oversaw NSF’s genetics, genomics, and molecular biology research programs from 2006 to 2008. He joined the National Cancer Institute at the NIH in 2008. As Chief of the Cancer Training Branch he oversaw NCI’s Fellowships, Career Development (K) Awards, Institutional Training Grants (T32), and Cancer Education Programs. From 2018 to 2023, he served as the Director of Division for Research Capacity Building at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS/NIH), leading large research programs including the congressionally mandated Institution Development Award (IDeA) that supports twenty-four US states. Dr. Lei was a member of NIH’s leadership team that oversaw the agency’s COVID-19 response. He co-chaired the taskforce that developed and implemented the Rapid Development of Diagnosis-Underserved Population (RADx-UP) program that increased the uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination in underserved populations. Dr. Lei is a recipient of the US Department of Health and Human Service’s Dr. Howard K. Koh Award for Excellence in Leadership, NIH Director’s Award, and NIH Merit Award.
Prior to entering public service, Dr. Lei was a Professor and NIH R01-funded principal investigator at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He taught Genetics and Microbiology. His laboratory studied DNA replication, a tightly regulated cellular event that goes awry in cancer cells.
Dr. Lei earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University in New York.
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Disclosure Statement:
Coming soon
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Jala Lockhart, PhD, MPH, CHES (2027)
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Jala Lockhart, PhD, MPH, CHES, DTR, is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia yet completed all her studies at The University of Alabama. She has a B.S. in dietetics with a minor in biology, a Master of Public Health, and a doctorate in health education and promotion from the capstone.
Dr. Lockhart’s dissertation explored health literacy and health equity for cancer survivors. Specifically, the research was centered on communication resources provided by NCI-Designated Cancer Centers that support Patient-Centered Communication for various socio-demographic patient populations.
Currently, Dr. Lockhart is an ORISE fellow at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she serves in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control on the program evaluation team. Dr. Lockhart’s research experience includes working on multiple studies with grant funding from the American Cancer Society, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Louisiana, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Rockefeller Foundation.
Dr. Lockhart’s research interests include cancer survivorship/education, health communications, and health disparities. She values culturally competent health education programming for minoritized survivors with the outcome of improving patient well-being. Jala is not only a scholar of cancer research but also an advocate due to a family history of cancer diagnoses. |
Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Chair, Advisory Committee (Immediate Past President)
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John "Juan" Luque, PhD, MPH (2025)
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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 85 scientific papers in anthropology, medicine, and public health. He is a Fellow for the Society for Applied Anthropology and a former Executive Board Member of the Society for Medical Anthropology. Additional Information (personal website).
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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EACE President
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Filipe Santos Silva, PhD
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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.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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Ex-Officio Member
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Nastaran Zahir, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD
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As Branch Director of the Cancer Training Branch (CTB) within NCI’s Center for Cancer Training (CCT), Dr. Nastaran Zahir oversees the extramural portfolio in fellowships, career development awards, training grants, and cancer research education grants. Before joining CCT in 2021, Dr. Zahir served as Associate Director for the Physical Sciences-Oncology Network and Program Director for the Structural Biology and Molecular Applications Branch in NCI’s Division of Cancer Biology (DCB). In those roles, she coordinated programs that integrate physical sciences perspectives in cancer research, fostered collaborative team science, supported education, outreach, and advocacy activities, and promoted resources for data sharing and biospecimen standards. Dr. Zahir has also served as Chair of the NCI Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Activities Committee, which plays a key role in planning and implementing NCI priorities for ESIs. In her role as Chief of the Cancer Training Branch, Dr. Zahir envisions expanding cross-disciplinary training opportunities for the next generation of cancer researchers.
Dr. Zahir's passion for advancing the integration of physical sciences and oncology stems from a decade of transdisciplinary research at the intersection of these fields. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley while a research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the areas of plasma physics and radiation biology and imaging. Dr. Zahir received a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania at the Institute for Medicine and Engineering where she investigated spatial-mechanical regulation of mammary morphogenesis and therapeutic resistance. Her postdoctoral training was at the NIH National Institute of Arthritis, and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases where she studied stem cell biology, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. During that time, Dr. Zahir also served as Senior Editor of the NIH Fellows Editorial Board. In 2009, she joined the NIH extramural program as a Program Director at the NCI Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives in the former Office of Physical Sciences-Oncology. Throughout her career, Dr. Zahir has co-authored research publications in biological and physical sciences. She has also taught undergraduate courses in cancer biology at the University of Pennsylvania and graduate courses in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine at the NIH Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences.
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Disclosure Statement:
No relevant financial relationships to disclose
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