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Our Team
VOICES of Black Women Study Leadership Team
The VOICES of Black Women study leadership team includes the study’s Principal Investigators and study management leaders.
Alpa V. Patel, PhD, MPH
Dr. Patel is the co-Principal Investigator for VOICES of Black Women. She studies cancer prevention, focusing on how physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity affect the risk of developing or dying from cancer. She also serves as the principal investigator of the ACS Cancer Prevention Studies (CPS), CPS-II and CPS-3, which are among the country’s largest population cohort studies. She provides strategic and operational oversight for the studies, including their biospecimen and data management.
Lauren E. McCullough, PhD, MSPH
Dr. McCullough is the co-Principal Investigator for VOICES of Black Women. Her role at ACS is to contribute to the growth and diversity of ACS cohorts and lead scientific efforts in breast cancer, social epidemiology, and outcomes research. Her primary research interests are in cancer disparities and cancer outcomes. Her research goals are to improve cancer prognosis in marginalized populations using a multi-level approach to identify targets for pharmacologic, behavioral, and policy intervention.
Lauren R. Teras, PhD, MPH
Dr. Teras is a member of the Scientific Leadership team for VOICES of Black Women. She leads the breast and hematologic cancer research portfolios for the Department of Population Science. Her work focuses on the causes and prevention of these cancers, particularly aggressive subtypes like triple negative breast cancers and multiple myeloma. She is also interested in understanding the ways in which the screening, diagnosis, and risk of these cancers disproportionately impact men and women of color and how to correct these health inequities.
Jeshondria McCrary, BS
Jeshondria leads participant engagement and operations in VOICES of Black Women. Her work at ACS focuses on how physical activity and sedentary behavior affect the risk for developing cancer. She directs the daily operations for the CPS-3 Accelerometry sub-study and handles enrollment, changes to research protocol and logistics. She works firsthand with participant communication and supports work with resolving discrepant National Death Index records for CPS-II.
Elizabeth G. Kirkland, MPH
Elizabeth leads quantitative data collection in the VOICES of Black Women. At ACS, she supports survey development and data collection for the American Cancer Society’s current prospective cohorts for Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) and Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). She’s currently responsible for data processing and statistical programming for the CPS-3 triennial survey.
Eunice Larbi, MPH
Eunice leads community-based research engagement for the VOICES of Black Women. This involves working with the research and outreach teams on equity-minded study design, marketing, and participant recruitment. She has done previous research in behavioral health and health equity, and her current research interests include cancer disparities, implementation science, and behavioral health.
Jeuneviette E. Bontemps-Jones, MPH
Jeuneviette leads efforts around qualitative data collection in the VOICES of Black Women. She began her career at ACS in the Behavioral Research Center managing studies and conducting study evaluations in the areas of tobacco control, social support, and health equity. Currently, she primarily assists in managing the CPS-3 Accelerometry Sub-Study and is responsible for some of its data processes.
Holly Vins, MPH
Holly leads biospecimens management in the VOICES of Black Women. Her primary focus is ensuring the successful collection, storage, and analysis of blood, buccal, and tissue samples from ACS study participants. This involves maintaining accurate records of the biospecimens collected from CPS-II and CPS-3 participants, as well as coordinating the use of those biospecimens from project initiation to close-out. She is the connection point between the many people involved in biospecimen-based research, including ACS principal investigators, data analysts, external collaborators, laboratories, and the biorepository.
Jessica Gerald, MPH
Jessica leads study coordination efforts for the VOICES of Black Women Study. This involves working with partner organizations, volunteers, and Ambassadors to support recruitment efforts. She has previous experience supporting community-based research focused on health equity in Atlanta, GA. She also has experience building mutually beneficial relationships between public health organizations.
VOICES of Black Women Scientific Advisory Board
The VOICES of Black Women Scientific Advisory Board, or SAB, is a team of cross-disciplinary experts in Black women’s health. SAB members provide insights and guidance to the study leadership team to strengthen our study.
Study Communications Team
The VOICES of Black Women study is led within the ACS Population Science Department. Members of the Population Science team support study enrollment and help answer participants questions.
