In recognition of her cancer research, Vanessa B. Sheppard, PhD, Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement and Health Disparities Research at Massey Cancer Center, has received the 2022 Researcher of the Year Award from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Dr. Sheppard, who was awarded $1.5 million, is an expert in health disparities research who focuses on disparities within breast cancer outcomes and addresses those disparities by developing approaches to improve survivors’ quality of life or cancer care delivery.
“I’m thrilled to receive this honor, and grateful for the opportunity to shine a light on the incredibly common and harmful effects of cancer disparities on historically marginalized groups,” said Dr. Sheppard, who also serves as Associate Vice President of Population and Public Health Strategic Initiatives and the Theresa A. Thomas Memorial Chair in Cancer Prevention and Control at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. “With interventions like the one funded by my ACS grant, we’re able to discover and test concrete, effective ways to remediate those disparities in the communities we serve.”
Vanessa B. Sheppard, PhD
Working Together to Improve Survival
Dr. Sheppard’s ACS-funded study seeks to improve the uptake of chemotherapy and adjuvant hormone therapy among Black patients with breast cancer. In this randomized clinical trial, participants will either receive enhanced usual care or Dr. Sheppard’s “Sisters Informing Sisters” intervention. The communication and decision-support intervention pairs newly diagnosed Black patients with breast cancer with Black breast cancer survivor coaches who have undergone similar therapies and have been trained to implement the study protocol.
The pairs work though a patient guidebook and decision-support materials designed to prepare the newly diagnosed women to ask more questions and engage with their providers. Systemic therapy and patient-provider communication are shown to influence breast cancer outcomes; initial results have showed that the intervention increases uptake in recommended therapies.
Dr. Sheppard’s approach embeds clinical research in the community to achieve equity, using community navigators to educate and support people through their cancer care as well as to improve access to treatments and clinical trials. She stresses the importance of bidirectional communication to gain and maintain trust and the importance of keeping the community of study informed on the progress, barriers, and achievements gained through research.
“This work is possible because of the patients who participated in my studies, my outstanding research teams, the advisors, mentors, community advocates, funders, and organizations that have worked alongside me,” said Dr. Sheppard. “I fully support the mission of the ACS and the work they do for those impacted by cancer. Their investment in my research has been phenomenal, and together with Massey I am committed to working toward a future without cancer.”
