Georgetown Minority Health Leader Named to National Cancer Policy Forum

(August 1, 2014) — Lucile Adams-Campbell, PhD, a leader in minority health and health disparities research and associate dean for community health and outreach at Georgetown University Medical Center, has been appointed to the Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum (NCPF).

Adams-Campbell, who is also professor of oncology and associate director for minority health and health disparities research at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, was named to a three-year term that began in May.

The NCPF is a key venue for leaders from academia, government, industry, advocacy organizations and other sectors to convene around national policy issues related to cancer prevention and treatment. The members are tasked with identifying high-priority policy issues in science clinical medicine and public health relevant to cancer prevention and treatment, and with examining those issues through activities that promote in-depth discussion and opportunities for action.

Adams-Campbell, a Washington, D.C. native who has devoted her career to reducing the cancer burden among underrepresented minorities in her hometown, says she is pleased for this opportunity to have an impact on national policy discussions. 

“For decades, I have worked side-by-side with community members and organizations to reduce the disproportionate impact of cancer on minority populations in this region. With this new opportunity, I can apply this experience and perspective to the policy realm—where I hope I can help make a difference on a new level by helping identify national strategies for improvement,” she says.

As the leader of Georgetown Lombardi’s program on minority health and health disparities research, Adams-Campbell oversees a broad portfolio of research. Her work has a heavy emphasis on prevention and control of those cancers that disproportionately impact minority populations and reducing risk factors linked to diseases, including nutrition, physical activity and other lifestyle factors.

Under her leadership, in 2012 Georgetown opened the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, in southeast D.C., where a significant portion of the community-based research is housed.

Adams-Campbell is a member of the Institute of Medicine and was appointed to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

By Lauren Wolkoff
GUMC Communications