Faculty & Staff

The CARES Center is composed of four cores—Administrative, Career Enhancement, Developmental, and Research and Methods—that work collaboratively and integrate with each other to support our overall mission. The faculty and staff who make up these cores contribute to supporting the center’s efforts to expand research and research capacity in cancer control in persistent poverty areas of Alabama by implementing and evaluating multilevel interventions to improve cancer outcomes across the cancer control continuum from prevention to survivorship. To see a full list of our faculty and staff by core, please click one of the areas below.

Administrative

The Administrative Core facilitates the work of projects and cores by providing administrative and financial oversight, assisting project with regulatory approvals, monitoring of performance and productivity, and performing a comprehensive evaluation. The core nurtures engagement with the community and convenes the Community Advisory Board, and ensures engagement among investigators by facilitating communications, organizing meetings, and promoting opportunities for collaboration. The core collaborates with the NCI’s Persistent Poverty Initiative Network (PPIN).

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Research Development & Pilot Program

The Research Development and Pilot Program Core supports the development of new research directions and projects in line with CARES Center research framework and the priorities of the CAB and of the NCI PPIN. The core will build consensus among community representatives, investigators, and the NCI’s PPIN on the research priorities of the center and the development of pilot projects. Additionally, the core supports the expansion of initial research, building on collective findings of CARES Center and the NCI’s PPIN.

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Career Enhancement

The Career Enhancement Core supports early-career investigators with mentorship, coaching, and research education, and provides practical research opportunities and hands on experience in CARES Center research and pilot projects. Each year, the center identifies early-career scientists and integrates them as researchers into the research projects and into the development and implementation of the pilot projects.  Support will also be provided for cross-center and PPIN collaborations.

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Research and Methods

The Research and Methods Core is the hub of cancer research expertise in persistent poverty areas. The core provides methodological support to all CARES Center projects and facilitates data collection and analysis for the projects and the overall center. The core’s expertise and services supports the attainment of the center’s goal by ensuring rigorous design, implementation, and evaluation of cancer control research in persistent poverty areas.