Rena Pasick, DrPH, MPH, MA

Dr. Pasick is Professor of Medicine at UCSF. From 2002-18 she served as Director of the Office of Community Engagement for the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Trained in public health with a DrPH from UC Berkeley, Dr. Pasick has spent the past thirty years conducting research on cancer disparities in the diverse and underserved communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Pasick’s completed studies include an NCI Program Project, Cancer Screening, Managed Care and the Underserved, and NCI RO1 studies: Cross-Cultural Communication in Colorectal Cancer Screening (CRC – to aid communication between clinicians and African American, Chinese, and Latino patients on colorectal screening); Behavioral Constructs and Culture in Cancer Screening (3Cs – to test the cultural appropriateness of five major behavioral theory constructs); Interactive Outreach: CIS-Link to the Underserved (to connect public hospital cancer patients with the Cancer Information Service); and Statewide Communication to Reach Diverse Low Income Women, a study to identify English and Spanish-speaking women at risk for hereditary breast cancer or Asian women who may be at risk for Hepatitis B among callers to the California breast and cervical screening program. Her current research includes an NCI-funded RO1, Comparison of 3 Modes of Genetic Counseling in High-Risk Public Hospital Patients and a Susan G. Komen Scholar grant, Second Opinions and the Treatment Gradient Experienced by African American Breast Cancer Patients: An Exploratory Study. In 2010, Dr. Pasick was recognized for her record of research in cancer disparities by an invitation to join the Susan G. Komen National Scholars. With the funds that came with this honor, Dr. Pasick has studied cross-cultural validation of breast cancer risk assessment tools, breast cancer risk education in the context of the African American church, and exploration of the meaning of breast cancer risk among Chinese women having a strong family history of breast cancer.

In 2008, Dr. Pasick’s Community Engagement program established a very active Faith Communities initiative that fosters new health ministries in African American churches and disseminates evidence-based interventions such as Body & Soul in that setting. This has led to development of a Prostate Education Committee that engages in research, education, and advocacy addressing the excess burden of this disease among African American men.

Dr. Pasick regards her most significant contribution as the establishment of the Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research (MTPCCR), designed to encourage under-represented master’s level students and master’s trained professionals to go on for their doctoral degrees and to pursue careers in cancer control research. The MTPCCR was funded continuously by the National Cancer Institute from 1998-2018. Over 700 people participated of whom more than 30% have gone on to the doctorate. The majority report that the MTPCCR was a strong influence on their plans, and half are working in cancer-related research. Currently, UCLA has raised funds to support the MTPCCR at that campus through 2021. An NCI-funded adaptation of the program targeting Latinx participants was awarded to colleague Amelie Ramirez at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, with Dr. Pasick as Co-PI 2010-20.