On the Cover

Joya Harris, 00mPH, found strength in her family to overcome breast cancer now she is using her personal and public health experience to help other women face breast cancer

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Network of Strength

Alumna Joya Harris pays it forward to help women diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Editor Pam Auchmutey

Art Director

Erica Endicott

Designer Peta Westmaas

Director of Photography

Bryan Meltz

Photo Contributors

Ann Borden

Kay Hinton

Jack Kearse

Jon Rou

Circulation and Finance Manager

Carol Pinto

Print Production Manager

Stuart Turner

Associate Vice President, Health Sciences Communications

Jeffrey Molter

Executive Director, Health Sciences

Publications

Karon Schindler

Dean, Rollins School of Public Health

James W. Curran, MD,MPH

Associate Dean for Development and External Relations, Rollins School of Public Health

Kathryn H. Graves, 93MPH

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Through gentle persuasion, patient navigators ensure that women with breast cancer stay in treatment.

Every success story begins with an idea.

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Detecting Colon Cancer

Robin Bostick aims to develop a simple test to identify risk of disease long before it occurs.

18 Champions of Cancer Outcomes

Two nationally known researchers channel their expertise to improve cancer outcomes in Georgia.

22 SEERS of Cancer Trends

An Emory data registry helps ensure standard delivery of care and equal treatment for future patients.

25 Reducing Tobacco Use in China

A new partnership targets the nation’s 400 million smokers. in every issue Dean’s message . .

Public Health is published by the rollins school of Public Health, a component of the Woodruff Health sciences center of emory university Please send class notes, observations, letters to the editor, and other correspondence to: editor, Public Health, 1440 clifton road, suite 150, atlanta, ga 30322, call (404) 712-9265, or email pam auchmutey@emory edu to contact the office of Development and external relations, send email to kgraves@emory edu the website of the rollins school of Public Health is www sph emory edu to view past issues of the magazine, visit www whsc emory edu/phmag/

Through their own research and interdisciplinary studies with others, Rollins scientists are involved in more than 50 cancer research projects.

Touched by cancer

Chances are you know someone affected by cancer. Here at Rollins, researchers are attacking the disease from all angles—from prevention and early detection to tracking quality of life and outcomes—with the goal of reducing the overall incidence of cancer. Through their own research and interdisciplinary studies with others, Rollins scientists are involved in more than 50 cancer research projects.

For more than 20 years, we have been home to the Atlanta Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry, funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry, funded by the CDC. These registries inform state and the federal experts on cancer incidence and outcomes in metropolitan Atlanta and in Georgia. They also provide a base for other population-based outcomes research.

Our cancer efforts are strengthened through collaborations with the CDC, the American Cancer Society, the Georgia Research Alliance, and the Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC). Among our faculty are several GCC Distinguished Cancer Scholars, who are part of a statewide scientific community committed to saving lives.

Several of our faculty members hold joint appointments in the Emory Winship Cancer Institute, which just became the first NCI-designated cancer center in Georgia. Winship’s Cancer Control and Population Sciences core is based in the RSPH and led by epidemiologist Robin Bostick.

All of us have experienced the tragedy and suffering caused by cancer. In public health, these instances are stark reminders of the importance of prevention—reducing tobacco use in China, encouraging early breast cancer detection among undeserved women in Atlanta, reducing obesity in rural Georgia, or understanding the unknown causes of many cancers. We dedicate this issue to people everywhere who are touched by cancer and who are working to stop this disease.