Science + Medicine: Leveraging Epidemiologic Research to Provide More Equitable Healthcare

Dr. Electra Paskett has a conversation with us on the field of epidemiology broadly, with a special focus on behavioral cancer epidemiology. She is the Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in the College of Medicine, an epidemiology professor in the College of Public Health, the Associate Director for Population Sciences and Program Leader of the Cancer Control Program in the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Ohio State University, and the Director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at the James Cancer Hospital. We discuss the subdisciplines of this field, how research is conducted, the impact of the social determinants of health on medical care, and the value of epidemiological research holistically. Dr. Paskett enumerates the factors that strongly associate with disparities and addresses misconceptions and challenges she faces in her work, while providing examples of some of her initiatives that are currently underway. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Paskett shares her passion for understanding why certain people get cancer and for designing interventions to prevent or reduce the risk of cancer.