$729K American Cancer Society Grant Awarded to Rutgers Cancer Institute Researcher

New Brunswick, N.J., August 28, 2017 – Jennifer Tsui, PhD, a researcher at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been awarded a $729,000 Mentored Research Scholar Grant in Applied and Clinical Research (MRSG-17-099-01-CPHSPS) from the American Cancer Society to further explore health care delivery and care transitions for underserved cancer patients. The award supports investigators who are in the early stages of their career in becoming independent researchers as either clinician scientists or cancer control and prevention investigators.

Despite evidence that vulnerable populations often receive poor quality care, few studies have focused on understanding the underlying health care processes that contribute to suboptimal cancer care or poor transitions between primary care and oncology care. To address this, Dr. Tsui, who is a resident research member in Rutgers Cancer Institute’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program, is investigating health care organizational and delivery factors that impact transitions from primary care to specialty oncology care.

“Cancer is the leading cause of death in 22 states and disproportionately impacts racial/ethnic minority groups. Individuals in that population, particularly those with Medicaid coverage, are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at later disease stages, less likely to undergo and complete treatment, and experience worse survival when compared to other groups,” notes Tsui, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “With that, it is imperative to further explore this topic, particularly within the broader context of ongoing health care redesign efforts that focus on quality rather than quantity of care.”

Using a mixed method study design, Tsui will examine multi-level factors, at the health system, provider/practice, and individual levels that affect care delivery and care transitions for breast and colorectal cancer patients with Medicaid coverage. The aim is to inform system level strategies to improve cancer care transitions within Medicaid health care settings.

“This grant will help further our understanding of health care delivery needs for underserved cancer patients, so that we can reduce the cancer burden and improve quality of life for this population. We are grateful to the American Cancer Society for supporting this very important research and this talented new investigator,” adds Sharon Manne, PhD, associate director for Cancer Prevention, Control and Population Science at Rutgers Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The award period runs through June 2022.

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