News

$6.5 Million CDC Grant Funds Penn Prevention Research Center for Another Five Years

Led by Three LDI Senior Fellows, Center Will Increase Focus on Cancer

October 14, 2024

By:

Hoag Levins

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LDI Senior Fellows Karen Glanz, Oluwadamilola (Lola) Fayanju, and Meghan Lane-Fall Head the Penn Prevention Research Center that has been refunded for another five years by the CDC.

The University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center (UPenn PRC) has been awarded a $6.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support another five years of operation.

The research center is headed by LDI Senior Fellows Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, George A. Weiss University Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Nursing; Oluwadamilola (Lola) Fayanju, MD, MA, Associate Professor of Surgery; and Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care.

“We’re thrilled to be among the PRC’s that are funded by the CDC for the next five years,” said Glanz. “Our team is diverse in disciplines and backgrounds. Both our leadership and collaborators include a variety of LDI Senior Fellows. We’re poised to focus on implementation research and improving health equity among cancer patients and people at-risk for cancer.”

National PRC Network

Penn’s is one of 20 such centers that make up the national PRC Network established by the CDC in 1984 to create a network of academic research centers for community-based applied research related to the development, testing, and evaluation of solutions for public health problems, particularly in populations affected by health disparities.

Founded in 2014, UPenn PRC has targeted a variety of research areas, including reducing cancer risk, obesity and physical activity, preventive care, tobacco control, disparities in health care, and community mental health.

Joins CPCRN Network

Over the next five years, the UPenn PRC’s research projects will be more focused on cancer—$1.5 million of the new grant is a supplement awarded to UPenn PRC to become a Collaborating Center in the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN). CPCRN is a national network of academic, public health, and community partners that work together to develop and implement evidence-based strategies to reduce the burden of cancer.

The other LDI Senior Fellows involved with the UPenn PRC are Rebecca Brown, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine; Tamara Cadet, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor at the School of Social Policy & Practice; and Andy Tan, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication.