SUNY Upstate Medical University
Honorary Degree Recipient
2
Dr. Otis W. Brawley is a globally recognized expert in cancer screening, prevention and treatment, and the design of trials to assess them. His work focuses on how to close racial, economic and social inequities in the treatment of cancer. He concentrates on the practice of evidence based medicine and efficiency in healthcare. His work in cancer screening relates to his interest in reducing health disparities by making healthcare more efficient. He has defined better explanations of the real benefits and limitations of science-directed screening programs to physicians, the lay public and policy makers. His balanced approach to prostate cancer screening and treatment recognizes the potential for benefits and risks, and allows greater patient involvement for the process. In the Detroit neighborhood where Dr. Brawley grew up, he saw how the lack of health care on those in his community had its impact. It was while he was still in high Otis W. Brawley, MD, MACP, FASCO, FACE school, volunteering at an area Veterans Administration Hospital that he was inspired by Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of the scientists and physicians there. A self-described “science nerd,” Dr. Brawley Oncology and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins gravitated toward research because it blends the practice of medicine with pure science. University Associate Director, Community Outreach Today, he leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort focused on cancer health and Engagement at the Sidney Kimmel disparities. Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University After receiving both his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Chicago, Dr. Brawley completed a residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve and a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute. Following his fellowship, he remained at the National Cancer Institute as an oncologist and senior investigator and also served as its director of the Office of Special Populations until 2001. His work there, and for Surgeon General David Satcher, demonstrated differing healthcare outcomes by race, socioeconomic status, and geography. At that time, he moved to Atlanta to become director of the Georgia Cancer Center and Chief of Hematology and Oncology at Grady Memorial Hospital and professor of hematology, oncology, medicine and epidemiology at Emory University. From 1988 until 2001, Dr. Brawley served as an active duty, tenured commissioned officer, in the U.S. Public Health Service and rose to the rank of captain. From 2001 until 2014, he served as a reserve commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, and was deployed for active duty to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Southern Louisiana, in 2006. From 2007 to 2018, Dr. Brawley was chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, where he oversaw the largest private program funding cancer research in the United States. While there, he was responsible for promoting the goals of cancer prevention, early detection, and quality treatment through cancer research and education. He championed efforts to decrease smoking, implement other lifestyle risk reduction programs, provide critical support to cancer patients, and concentrate cancer control efforts where they could be most effective. For two decades, Dr. Brawley has served on numerous federal and private advisory boards and panels, including the Surgeon General’s Task Force on Cancer Health Disparities through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Board of Regents Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in the Department of Defense, where he was nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate. He was appointed as a Georgia Cancer Coalition Scholar and was given the Key to St. Bernard Parish and the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Meritorious Service Medal for efforts during Hurricane Katrina. He received the Department of Defense Uniformed Services University Distinguished Service Award and the American Medical Association Distinguished Service Award. He was recently given the Martin D. Abeloff Award for Excellence in Public Health and Cancer Control from the Maryland State Council of Cancer Control. His published works deal with challenging topics of the harms of overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and complications of treatment due to cancer screening. His book entitled “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America” emphasizes a principle that guide us at Upstate and across the country and the world: use resources wisely with allegiance to the science, and become wiser in our use of health care, an inspiration that will benefit all of our faculty and staff and our graduates.
