Steven R. Patierno, PhD
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) named Steven R. Patierno, PhD, as the recipient of the 2019 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Patierno presented his award lecture at the 12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held earlier this month in San Francisco.
Significant Contributions to Research and Clinical Care
Dr. Patierno is Deputy Director of the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham. He joined the Duke University Medical Center in 2012 and also serves as a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and Family Medicine and Community Health. Dr. Patierno has performed groundbreaking research and innovative interventions that address the multi-level complexity of cancer disparities.
Dr. Patierno is recognized for helping to identify actionable molecular pathways contributing to the aggressive biology of lung, breast, colon, and prostate cancer in African American patients. These discoveries highlight the critical need to conduct basic, translational, and clinical cancer research studies in diverse populations.
He is also recognized for his significant contributions to clinical patient care. His health care delivery research has shown that comprehensive patient navigation efforts are able to effectively mitigate cancer disparities when applied at the onset of screening and diagnosis and throughout treatment and survivorship.
Dr. Patierno earned a doctorate in molecular pharmacology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center-MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
This AACR lectureship recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer health disparities. ■
