Katherine Ho, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, has received an American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Award, supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD), for her research examining how community conditions may affect survival among women with breast cancer.
The award supports Ho’s research on whether changes in social vulnerability in U.S. counties are associated with the risk of dying from breast cancer or other causes among breast cancer survivors. Her research will be presented at the 19th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in October.
Under the mentorship of Kekoa Taparra, MD, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of radiation oncology and health policy and management at UCLA and investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ho is examining how factors such as poverty, housing, transportation and access to resources may shape health outcomes after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Her work is part of a broader effort to better understand why cancer outcomes differ across communities. By tracking changes in social vulnerability over time, the research could provide insight into which populations face greater risks and help inform strategies to reduce disparities in breast cancer outcomes.
