Update: October 14, 2024 - Read the Penn Medicine Announcement

The University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center (UPenn PRC), led by Drs. Karen Glanz, Oluwadamilola “Lola” Fayanju, and Meghan Lane-Fall, has been awarded a core grant and supplement totaling $6.5 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the next five years. The national PRC Network includes 20 CDC-funded Centers in the 2024-2029 cycle. The goal of the PRC program is to fund academic research centers conducting community-based prevention and public health research.

A signature initiative of the UPenn PRC will be its 5-year core research project. Penn researchers will collaborate with colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) to implement a study focused on improving communication between doctors and older patients with early-stage breast, rectal, or lung cancer. This hybrid effectiveness-implementation study will assess impact of the Best Case/Worst Case decision-making framework blended with geriatric assessment on patient outcomes and satisfaction. This will be the largest study of this promising communication strategy to date.

The UPenn PRC will build strong partnerships with community organizations, health departments, and Penn Medicine clinical practices to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities. The center will leverage state-of-the-art methods and technologies to conduct research, disseminate findings, and translate research into action.

Previously funded from 2014 to 2019, the UPenn PRC has a proven track record of success, with past research in weight management, cancer prevention and control, health disparities and cognitive health. This new funding will enable the center to expand its impact and make a difference in the health and well-being of the people in Philadelphia and the region.

In addition to the Center grant, the UPenn PRC was awarded a supplement to be a Collaborating Center in the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN). CPCRN is a national network of academic, public health, and community partners who work together implement evidence-based strategies to reduce the burden of cancer. The UPenn Collaborating Center research project will study community- and patient-engaged approaches to encourage risk assessment, counseling, and referral to risk-stratified services for underserved adults at increased-risk for breast and colorectal cancer.

The UPenn PRC is led by a distinguished team of experts: Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH (George A. Weiss University Professor, Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing); Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP (David E. Longnecker Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine and Professor, Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine); and Lola Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS (Helen O. Dickens Presidential Associate Professor, Perelman School of Medicine). Amy Leader, PhD (Associate Professor in the Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University), will be the site PI at Jefferson’s SKCC and a member of the PRC leadership team. The team leaders’ combined expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, social sciences, environmental health, health policy, oncology, and health services research positions the center to make significant contributions to public health and health care.

Additional collaborators include:

University of Pennsylvania:

• Rebecca Brown, MD, MPH (Perelman School of Medicine – Geriatrics)
• Tamara J. Cadet, PhD, LICSW, MPH (School of Social Policy & Practice)
• Kevin B. Johnson, MD (Perelman School of Medicine – DBEI, School of Engineering and Applied Science)
• Anne Marie McCarthy, ScM, PhD (Perelman School of Medicine – DBEI)
• Nicole Saur, MD (Perelman School of Medicine – Colon and Rectal Surgery)
• Andy Tan, MBBS, PhD, MPH, MBA (Annenberg School for Communication)

Thomas Jefferson University

• Olugbenga Okusanya, MD

University of Wisconsin, Madison:

• Margaret “Gretchen” Schwarze, MD, MPP, creator of Best Case/Worst Case.

Visit upennprc.org to learn more