The university of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has appointed Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD, as Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The newly created position underscores the cancer center’s commitment to identifying and addressing issues and organizational structures that impede the development of a more inclusive workplace and enhance the cancer care of all North Carolinians. Dr. Brewster’s appointment recognizes her consistent leadership in advancing critical initiatives in each of UNC Lineberger’s missions.
Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD
Dr. Brewster, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine and Director of the UNC Center for Women’s Health Research, is a practicing gynecologic oncologist, a cancer epidemiologist, and a researcher on several active projects identifying at-risk populations and mechanisms that lead to poor outcomes in endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers.
UNC Lineberger established the Equity Council in 2020 under the leadership of Dr. Brewster and Samuel Cykert, MD, to critically evaluate, outline, and address the opportunities to bring the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into six core areas of the cancer center and cancer care. In phase I of this process, the Lineberger Equity Council evaluated the cancer center’s environment and analyzed needs to improve. Through that process, a list of actionable areas have been identified and prioritized. Phase II will implement meaningful and measurable changes.
Samuel Cykert, MD
The Equity Council is working collaboratively across the university and health-care system to enhance existing programs and policies and to integrate with other UNC schools and the health-care system that extends across North Carolina’s rural and urban populations and serves patients who span the racial, ethnic, and sociodemographic continuum.
Achieving Equity
“We live in complex, complicated times that are made even more challenging during a pandemic,” Dr. Brewster said. “Equity must be integral to the conduct of research and clinical trial recruitment. We want Lineberger to be to one of the first comprehensive cancer centers in the country to build transparent systems and interventions that will achieve equity in cancer care and outcomes.”
