Chanita Hughes-Halbert was named director for cancer equity at University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Keck School of Medicine.
Her appointment begins July 1, 2021.
Hughes-Halbert will join USC from the Medical University of South Carolina, where she is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, co-leader of the Cancer Control Program, holder of the AT&T Distinguished Endowed Chair at the Hollings Cancer Center and associate dean for assessment, evaluation and quality improvement at the College of Medicine.
Her work is focused on reducing the disparities in cancer outcomes that affect patients from underrepresented communities, with a primary focus on African American communities.
Hughes-Halbert has identified sociocultural, psychological, genetic and environmental determinants of cancer health disparities and translates this information into interventions to improve health equity among racially and ethnically diverse populations, as well as other medically underserved groups.
Hughes-Halbert was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.
At her current post, Hughes-Halbert directs the Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center in Precision Medicine and Minority Men’s Health. This program aims to develop medical strategies for minority men that are tailored to the specific social, genetic and environmental factors affecting each person’s health, with a focus on cancer.
President Barack Obama appointed Hughes-Halbert to NCI’s Board of Scientific Advisors in 2012, and in 2014 she joined the National Advisory Council of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
