Megan Clarke Receives 2018 Coleman Research Innovation Award
, by DCEG Staff
Megan Clarke
DCEG postdoctoral fellow Megan Clarke, Ph.D., M.H.S., was selected for the 2018 William G. Coleman, Jr., Ph.D., Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award for her proposal, “Evaluating the Associations of Symptom Appraisal and Barriers to Care with Endometrial Cancer Presentation and Outcomes in a Diverse Population.”
This $15,000 award, coordinated by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), will support Dr. Clarke’s investigations into the biological and behavioral aspects underlying disparities in endometrial cancer incidence and mortality. African-American women are twice as likely to die from endometrial cancer as white American women, despite a lower incidence rate. Among other goals, Dr. Clarke aims to understand whether differing patterns of healthcare access are contributing to disparities in endometrial cancer survival; the five-year survival rate for early stage cancer is 95 percent and only 45 percent for late stage-disease. She will also evaluate tampon-based sampling for early detection of endometrial cancer in underserved populations.
According to NIMHD, this selective award program is designed to support the development of innovative research ideas and concepts, contributed by postdoctoral fellows, staff scientists, and staff clinicians, that have the potential for high impact in any area of minority health and health disparities research. It is named in honor of William G. Coleman Jr., Ph.D., who became the first permanent African-American scientific director in the history of the NIH Intramural Research Program in January 2011 when he was appointed to direct the NIMHD Intramural Research Program.