Cancer Center Researchers from Community Health Sciences
Meet the cancer researchers Heading link
Leslie Carnahan, PhD ’20 and MPH ’12 in Community Health Sciences, is a health disparities population researcher. Carnahan is a research scientist at the Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity at the University of Illinois Cancer Center. Their work focuses on understanding multilevel structural and social determinants of health and their impact on cancer disparities, including quality of life and survival. Their current work includes a community navigation program to promote cancer prevention and screening programs at safety net hospitals and community health centers in three Chicago neighborhoods. They are also engaged in evaluations for a number of CDC-funded statewide cancer prevention and health promotion programs for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Faculty Profile
Vida Henderson, PhD in Community Health Sciences ’17, is a behavioral scientist and minority health researcher whose research is focused on cancer disparities, preventive health services utilization, and cancer prevention and early detection. Her primary goal is to improve gender and racial health inequities by exploring associations between the social determinants of physical and mental health and behavioral outcomes. She is currently a senior research scientist and director of the Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity at the University of Illinois Cancer Center. Much of her current research focuses on breast and cervical cancer prevention and early detection. She is currently principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health project, where she is conducting a randomized control clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a culturally targeted decision aid video aimed at promoting genetic counseling utilization among African American women with hereditary risk for breast cancer. Faculty Profile
Yamilé Molina, PhD, is the associate director for community outreach and engagement at the University of Illinois Cancer Center, a faculty affiliate for the Center for Research on Women and Gender and an associate professor of community health sciences at the UIC School of Public Health. Their scholarship leverages systems science methods to develop, implement and evaluate community-driven interventions to reduce cancer health disparities, with a focus on breast cancer among Latina and African American communities. As a service leader, Molina further supports UIC students and faculty interested in community engaged research for cancer health equity through linkages to community partners, existing databases of community navigation projects, and resources for robust methods to address cancer disparities. Faculty Profile