As director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Robert A. Winn, MD, is leading the nation in establishing a 21st-century model of equity for cancer science and care, in which the community is informing and partnering with Massey on its research to best address the cancer burden and disparities of those the cancer center serves, with a local focus but global impact.

As a pulmonologist, Dr. Winn is committed to community-engaged research centered on eliminating health disparities. He is a principal investigator on several community-based projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NCI, including the All of Us Research Program, an NIH precision medicine initiative. Dr. Winn has nearly 20 years’ commitment to Veterans Affairs health services and held appointments at the Denver VA and Jesse Brown VA in Chicago, where he established the first multidisciplinary pulmonary nodule clinic. His current basic science research, which has been supported by multiple NIH and Veterans Affairs Merit awards, focuses on the molecular mechanisms and novel therapeutic approaches for human models of lung cancer.

In addition to his role as AACI president, Dr. Winn is the chair of the National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; a fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy; and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society and LUNGevity Foundation.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Dr. Winn has received the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities CURE Program Lifetime Achievement Award; the AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship; the inaugural AACI Cancer Health Equity Award; and the Prevent Cancer Foundation Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Laurel Award for Increasing Health Equity.
 

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The AACI Presidential Initiative allows the president of AACI's Board of Directors to formalize a special project of broad interest and value to AACI members during their two-year term.

Dr. Winn’s AACI Presidential Initiative aims to develop and promote inclusive excellence by examining methods through which AACI members can foster partnerships with like-minded organizations, government agencies, and other institutions – regionally, nationally, and globally. 

Activities proposed for the Inclusive Excellence Initiative focus on collaborative efforts to create opportunities for research, training and education, and patient navigation. The initiative will also support the continued facilitation of AACI’s annual Leadership Diversity and Development Workshop and the annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit in partnership with the Cancer Center DEI Network and the American Cancer Society.

 

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