How long have you been a member of AACE?
3+ years
What is your current position and where do you work?
I am an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky.
How long have you been doing research in the field of cancer education?
Since 2016 when I created the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program, which has been an funded as an NIH Youth Enjoy Science R25 program since 2018.
How did your interest in the field of cancer education begin?
I grew up in rural, southern Appalachia as the son of a man who had only an 8th grade education and a woman who had only a high school education. For 19 years I lived in a rural, isolated community that was nearly 100 miles away from the nearest R1-level university and major medical center. My parents knew nothing about higher education. Despite education not being valued in my family and rural community, I went on to become first in my family to earn a college degree and ultimately a PhD. Two years after earning my PhD, my dad died of lung cancer and my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of these personal experiences, I became very interested in cancer education as a means of connecting with students from rural areas that have both cancer and education disparities.
Describe some of your research as it relates to cancer education?
I strongly believe that education is the foundation to career and personal success and healthy living. Through my directorship of ACTION, I have been actively involved in health promotion through community outreach and engagement in order to promote the importance of education attainment and the understanding of cancer and cancer disparities. I have worked to educate the community on what cancer is, what causes cancer, cancer incidence and mortality rates in Kentucky, strategies for lowering one’s risk of developing cancer, and the general contribution education plays in reducing cancer burden. In that regard, I worked with colleagues to create a cancer education intervention for middle and high school students that enhances their cancer literacy and as the result of that work, we developed and evaluated a three-part cancer curriculum that teachers can use in their classrooms. We are working to disseminate this curriculum more widely to teachers for their use in their classrooms.
What motivates you to continue to do research in cancer education?
My personal connections with cancer and education disparities in rural areas motivates me to work in the area of cancer education.
Do you have any advice for individuals interested in pursuing a career in cancer education?
Cancer education is an area that can literally save lives. This makes this area an exciting field to work in. I encourage individuals to be driven by their own personal connections to cancer and to use that drive to work in cancer education areas that fulfill their passions.