Cancer Prevention Research Training Program Alumni
For three decades, the Cancer Prevention Research Training Program (CPRTP) has provided training in cutting-edge cancer prevention and control, early detection, and risk assessment research to a cohort of research scientists and health professionals through this postdoctoral fellowship program. Our alumni play a pivotal role in the research and education missions of MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Our network of more than 600 alumni includes individuals working as prominent leaders at cancer centers, government agencies, universities, and other organizations worldwide. Many alumni build careers in academia, cancer prevention, cancer research, consulting, patient care, health communications, and global health. We are proud of our long history of trainee research excellence and the notable achievements of our alumni. The CPRTP remains committed to training researchers and future leaders in cancer prevention.
Project: Couple-Based Mind-Body Program for Lung Cancer Patients and their Caregiving Partners
Primary Mentor: Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., Richard E.
Haynes Distinguished Professor in Clinical Cancer Prevention and
Director of the Integrative Medicine Program
I am very thankful for the CPRTP program. Drs. Chang and Cameron have always been available to me give great insight and guidance, even when I was not a CPRTP postdoc. This project also solidified my desire to develop and examine interventions for (cancer) patients with poor prognosis.
CPRTP Predoc and Postdoc Alumni
Alumni at MD Anderson
- Clayton Boldt, Ph.D., Program Manager, Communications, Public Relations
- Shine Chang, Ph.D., Professor, Epidemiology; Director, Cancer Prevention Research Training Program
- Yong Cui, Ph.D., Instructor, Behavioral Science
- Mary Coolbaugh-Murphy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Health Professions
- Karla Crawford, M.P.H., Senior Clinical Dietician, Integrative Medicine Center
- Kristina Dahlstrom, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Head & Neck Surgery
- Kplola Y. Elhor Gbito, Ph.D., Assistant Epidemiologist II, Epidemiology
- Michelle Hildebrandt, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Lymphoma-Myeloma
- Maosheng Huang, Ph.D., Senior Statistical Analyst, Epidemiology
- Guojon Li, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Head & Neck Surgery Research
- Scherezade "Scher" Mama DrPH, Assistant Professor, Health Disparities Research
- Kathrin Milbury, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Behavioral Science
- Jennifer Minnix, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Behavioral Science
- Mala Pande, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology Research
- Nathan Parker, Ph.D., Instructor, Duncan Family Institute Fellow, Behavioral Science
- Madhu Purewal, Ph.D., J.D., Senior Legal Officer and Director, Institutional Compliance
- Jason Robinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Behavioral Science
- Stacie Scruggs, M.P.H., Director, Division Research Development, OVP, Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
- Eileen Shinn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science
- Maria C. Swartz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatrics Research
- Melinda Yates, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine Research
Alumni at Texas Institutions
- Hoda Badr, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Medicine, Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX)
- Julienne Brackett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Sect. of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Cancer Center
- Yessenia Castro, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin
- Virmarie Correa-Fernandez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychological, Health & Learning Sciences (PHLS), University of Houston
- Ashish Deshmukh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Management, Policy & Community Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health
- Daniel Hughes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- David Lopez, DrPH, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, University of Texas School of Public Health
- Irene Tami-Maury, DrPH, MSc, DMD, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences
- Charles Minard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biostatistician, Baylor College of Medicine
- Lorraine Reitzel, Ph.D., Professor of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences (PHLS), University of Houston
- Michael Scheurer, Ph.D., Professor, Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
- Karyn Skaar, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Northeast Texas Community College (Mt Pleasant, TX)
Alumni at Other Institutions
- Claire A. Spears, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA)
- Jennifer Adams, M.D., Research Assistant Professor, University of Colorado (Denver, CO)
- Carrie Aigner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, Humboldt State University (Arcata, CA)
- Rachel Atkinson, Ph.D., Sr. Clinical Value and Outcomes Liaison, Seattle Genetics (Bothell, WA)
- Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, Ph.D., Director for Research Health Analyticsept. of Epidemiology, University Hospitals (Cleveland, OH)
- Whitney (Boling) Blondeau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Applied Sciences, Indiana State University (Terre Haute, IN)
- Michael Businelle, Ph.D., Director of the mHealth Shared Resource, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Stephenson Cancer Center (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Miguel Cano, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University (Miami, FL)
- Allison Burton-Chase, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Albany, NY)
- Jessica Clague DeHart, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Community and Global Health, School of Community & Global Health, Claremont Graduate University (Claremont, CA)
- Tracy Costello, Ph.D., Career Coach and Professional Development Consultant, Coach4Postdocs; Executive Coach, STEMPeers (Tampa, FL)
- Menton DeWeese, Ph.D., Instructor, The School for Science and Math, Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)
- Jan Eberth, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director, Rural and Minority Health Research Center, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC)
- Faith Fletcher, Ph.D., Assistant Profssor, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health (Birmingham, AL)
- Christopher Ford, MPH, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Rush Medical College (Chicago, IL)
- Adita Hazra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, MA)
- Whitney Heppner, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Georgia College & State University (Athens, GA)
- Shelly Hovick, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
- Rosenie Thelus Jean, Ph.D., Science Director, Pharmacovigilance Center, Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the United States Army (Washington, DC)
- Adam Leventhal, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
- Jennifer Irvine Vidrine, Ph.D., Assistant Center Director for Research Strategic Partnerships; Senior Member, Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffit Cancer Center (Tampa, FL)
- Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine), Urology and Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco
- Raheem Paxton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Community Health Sciences, The University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
- Anushree Sharma, Ph.D., Observational Research Manager, Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA)
- Rajesh Talluri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, MS)
- Damon Vidrine, DrPH, Vice Chair and Senior Member, Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, FL)
CPRTP Summer Program Alumni
Postdoc Alumni Perspectives
"The most beneficial aspect of my CPRTP training was learning to design studies, write manuscripts & grant applications." -Dr. Nate Parker (2017-2019)
"The (CPRTP) fellowship prepared me to present my work at conferences and meetings with respected epidemiologists."-Dr. Kristina Dahlstrom (2009-2013)
(CPRTP provided) "opportunities to learn & grow...including how to adapt to a culturally different environment."-Dr. Joel Fokom Domgue (2017-2019)
"The CPRTP fellowships were invaluable for my career because they provided excellent mentorship and career development."-Dr. Mala Pande (2003-2009)
" It is very important to me that my work has the goal of helping people."-Dr. Melinda Yates (2010-2012)
"Research often takes on a life of its own. Not everything will move according to the timeline as planned."-Dr. Maria C. Swartz (2004,2010,2011-2014)