Newswise — AACI Vice President/President-elect Robert A. Winn, MD, director of VCU Massey Cancer Center, will receive the AACI Cancer Health Equity Award on Wednesday, October 20, during the 2021 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. Dr. Winn will be the inaugural recipient of the award, which is underwritten by Florence.
AACI is recognizing Dr. Winn for his passionate commitment to improving health equity and his significant positive impact on cancer care in Virginia. Driven by a belief that community engagement is a central component of population health management, Dr. Winn promotes services that reflect the unique needs and values of the populations Massey serves. He provides direction for the VCU Massey Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research, which offers a wide variety of health education programming, screenings, and resources for the public.
In addition to his work in the Massey catchment area, Dr. Winn is at the forefront of addressing health disparities, promoting health equity, and advocating for diversity and inclusion in cancer care at the national level. He currently serves as a principal investigator on several community-based projects funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including the All of Us Research Program. He has received national and international acclaim for his efforts to empower underserved patient populations, improve health care delivery, and ensure equal access to cancer care.
Dr. Winn will oversee the Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program, a partnership with National Medical Fellowships and Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation that seeks to advance clinical trial diversity and improve access to quality health care in underserved patient populations in the U.S., while developing a more diverse medical workforce.
“Dr. Winn is driven by a deep commitment to community engagement as a key to reducing cancer health disparities,” said AACI President Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I congratulate him on this well-deserved award and I look forward to working with him to instill a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion at AACI cancer centers.”
AACI will also recognize Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH, with the Distinguished Scientist Award, and Sidney and Caroline Kimmel will receive the Champion for Cures Award. Dr. Garber, the Susan F. Smith Chair and Chief of the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is being honored for her breakthrough research on the treatment of triple-negative or basal-like breast cancer. The Kimmels will be recognized for their transformative philanthropy and longstanding support of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health.
Robert T. Croyle, PhD, director of the NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, will be honored for his service to the NCI and his commitment to reducing incidence, risk, and deaths from cancer while enhancing quality of life for cancer survivors.
In addition to award presentations, the 2021 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting will include panel discussions on telehealth and cancer care at home; the impact of COVID-19 on cancer centers; an overview of basic science cancer centers; data science and artificial intelligence; changes to the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant; and reducing disparities in cancer research and care. Dr. Lerman will also share a detailed overview of her presidential initiative, which is focused on leadership development and diversity at AACI cancer centers.
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AACI’s mission is to accelerate progress against cancer by enhancing the impact of North America’s leading academic cancer centers. For more information, please visit aaci-cancer.org.
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