UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Find our clinical program for a type of cancer:

Share Your Story

About the CCEP Program

Overview
Leadership and Staff
Training Advisory Committee
Faculty Mentors
Contact Information
Predoctoral Fellowships
Postdoctoral Fellowships

Overview

Brief History
The CCEP began in 1991 with funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Now under the leadership of Dr. Jo Anne Earp, the CCEP has renewed its NCI support through 2012. The Program is based in the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

During its first 16 years, the Progam has sponsored 72 fellows pre- or postdoctoral fellows. The 27 postdoctoral fellows have included eight physicians (two medical oncologists, a pediatric oncologist, a family practitioner, a pediatrician, two general internists, and one graduate) and one nurse (with a Ph.D. in epidemiology). The 18 with doctorates have included 14 new or recent doctorates and four experienced doctorates. The 45 predoctoral fellows have come primarily from five departments in the School of Public Health but also from the School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences. The 72 pre- and postdoctoral fellows have included 57 women, six African-Americans, six Asian-Americans, and one Hispanic.

Fellows sponsored during the first 16 years are now in faculty and research positions at: Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dartmouth University, Duke University, East Carolina University, Emory University, Medical College of Virginia, Memorial Sloan Kettering, the National Cancer Institute, the Ohio State University, Pittsburgh University, University of Florida, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina, University of Utah, and Washington University St. Louis. In addition to faculty and research positions, predoctoral fellows have graduated to postdoctoral fellowships at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the National Cancer Institute, Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Veterans Administration.

Setting
The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill constitute an ideal setting for a training program in cancer prevention and control that emphasizes multidisciplinary, collaborative research. An NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UNC Lineberger has considerable strength in the population sciences backed by a well-established Cancer Center and the nationally recognized UNC School of Public Health. Center-specific resources include:

Established, well-funded scientific research programs in Cancer Prevention and Control and Cancer Epidemiology
Core resources established to support the population sciences (Rapid Case Ascertainment, High-Throughput Genotyping, Dissemination; CHAI -- Communication for Health Applications and Intervention)
Other core resources that support the population sciences as well as other research (Biostatistics, Tissue Procurement, Oncology Clinical Protocol Office) and
A developmental/seed grants program dedicated to cancer prevention and control/cancer epidemiology.

Throughout all its research efforts but best evidenced by the translational research projects in its Breast and GI Cancer SPOREs, the Cancer Center has promoted multidisciplinary and collaborative research. Moreover, an emphasis on cancer prevention and control, the population sciences in general, and research on health disparities has distinguished the UNC Lineberger over the past 15 years.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill enhances the already rich multidisciplinary training environment at the UNC Lineberger. With their outstanding departmental training opportunities, faculty, and students, the nationally recognized UNC Schools of Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine are major resources for and close collaborators of the CCEP. Important cross-disciplinary training resources, such as the Preventive Medicine Residency Program, and the Public Health Leadership Program/Health Care and Prevention Curriculum, are available for clinician postdoctoral fellows. One of the growing strengths of the UNC Lineberger and its Cancer Prevention and Control Program has been its increasing collaboration with faculty and disciplines outside of the traditional Health Affairs schools. The tremendous range of expertise and training available throughout the University provides incredible depth and flexibility in training opportunities while also emphasizing cross-disciplinary interactions.

Leadership and Staff

Jo Anne L. Earp, Sc.D., CCEP Director
	Dr. Jo Anne Earp, Professor and Chair Emeritus of Health Behavior and Health Education, is an experienced cancer prevention and control researcher, mentor and administrator. A medical sociologist, she applies a behavioral science perspective to understanding the role that social and attitudinal factors play in explaining variation in health behaviors among groups of people, especially women and minorities. She has directed the NC Breast Cancer Screening Program, a nine-year long community intervention study funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and others. Her current research concerns barriers preventing older minority women from obtaining mammograms and pap smears and community/physician strategies for overcoming these barriers. Dr. Earp is also an expert in the design of data collection instruments, especially personal interviews with difficult-to-interview respondents, and regularly consults on methodological issues related to community health and patient education research.

Michael S. O'Malley, Ph.D., Co-Director
	Dr. Michael O'Malley, UNC Lineberger Associate Director for Administration and Planning, is responsible for the CCEP's day-to-day operations and directs one of the required courses (Fundamentals of Cancer Prevention and Control). Dr. O'Malley is an experienced cancer prevention and control investigator and Cancer Center administrator with research interests in the early detection of breast and colon cancer. He has been an invited guest of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is a member of the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control, and has served as an external advisor/consultant to several training programs, including the NCI's Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program.

Melissa S. Mack, Program Coordinator
	Ms. Melissa S. Mack provides administrative support for the Program, the fellows, the Training Advisory Committee, and the leadership. In other words, she makes the Program work!

Training Advisory Committee
The multidisciplinary Training Advisory Committee (TAC) is the CCEP’s governing and advisory body. Chaired by the CCEP Director, the TAC includes the CCEP Co-Director and six faculty representing different constituencies. The members are experienced researchers and mentors. Current members include:

Marci Campbell, Ph.D., R.D. -- Associate Professor of Nutrition; Program Leader, Cancer Prevention and Control, UNC Lineberger; CCEP mentor.
Paul Godley, M.D., Ph.D. -- Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology) and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, UNC Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Director, Ethnicity Culture and Health Outcomes Center; CCEP mentor.
Andrew Olshan, Ph.D. -- Professor and Chair of Epidemiology; Program Leader, Cancer Epidemiology, UNC Lineberger; Director, Cancer Epidemiology Training Grant; CCEP mentor.
Deborah Porterfield, M.D., M.P.H. -- Research Assistant Professor of Social Medicine; Director, UNC Preventive Medicine Residency Program and its ACS-funded cancer prevention and control training program.
David Ransohoff, M.D., M.P.H. -- Professor of Medicine (GI) and Epidemiology, UNC Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Director, Clinical Research Curriculum; CCEP mentor.
Bryan J. Weiner, Ph.D. -- Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, UNC School of Public Health; Program Director, UNC Cancer Care and Quality Training Program.

The Training Advisory Committee has eight major functions that constitute governance of the CCEP. fellow recruitment, selection, and matching; training plan design and review; fellow review and evaluation; review and evaluation of the core curriculum; program evaluation; placement; mentor recruitment and selection; and reporting.

Faculty Mentors:
CCEP faculty mentors represent departments in the UNC Chapel Hill Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing, and the College of Arts. Mentors are predominantly senior faculty. Four are practicing clinicians, and one is a nurse. To learn more about a mentor, click on the name and follow the link.

Alice Ammerman, Dr.PH., Associate Professor, Nutrition

Don Baucom, PhD, Professor, Psychology
Noel Brewer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Marci Campbell, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Nutrition
Jo Anne Earp, Sc.D., Professor and Chair, Health Behavior & Health Education
Eugenia Eng, Dr.P.H., Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Susan Ennett, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Marilie Gammon, PhD, Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Paul Godley, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Medicine
Laura Linnan. Sc.D., Assistant Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Robert Millikan, D.V.M., PhD, Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Merle Mishel, PhD, Kenan Professor, Nursing
Andy Olshan, PhD, Professor, Epidemiology
Michael Pignone, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Medicine
Barry Popkin, PhD, Professor, Nutrition
David Ransohoff, MD, M.P.H., Professor, Medicine

Kurt Ribisl, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Barbara K. Rimer, Dr.P.H. Dean, Alumni Distinguished Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education
Robert Sandler, M.D., M.P.H., Professor, Medicine
Jessie Satia, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Nutrition/Epidemiology
Deborah Tate, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nutrition/Health Behavior & Health Education
Morris Weinberger, PhD, Professor, Health Policy & Administration
Bryan Weiner, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Policy & Administration
Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Nutrition

Considered as a group, the faculty mentors provide multidisciplinary training opportunities. Discipline expertise includes health behavior, health communication, epidemiology, general medicine, oncology, health policy, nursing and nutrition. Specific areas of interest include but are not limited to: behavior change (diet, physical activity, smoking), diet and cancer cause/prevention, chemoprevention, tobacco control (youth, adolescents, adults), sun protection, social science measurement, psychosocial issues (peri-treatment and survivorship), cancer screening (breast, cervical, colon, prostate), community interventions, physical activity, cancer control policy, outcomes research, workplace interventions, physician practice interventions, racial disparities, and genetics.

Contact Information
For more information, questions, and/or comments, contact:

Michael S. O’Malley, Ph.D.
CCEP Co-Director
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
CB# 7295
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295
clover@med.unc.edu
919-966-8642
919-966-3015 (fax)

or

Melissa S. Mack
CCEP Program Coordinator
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
CB# 7295
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295
emstroud@med.unc.edu
919-966-8642
919-966-3015 (fax)