Internal Advisory Committee
The Internal Advisory Committee consists of institutional leaders and researchers with equal representation from each institution. Members were selected on the basis of their institutional knowledge, broad expertise in cancer prevention and cancer disparities, and funding experience.
Dr. Dan O'Connor
Dan O’Connor, PhD, is Professor and Department Chair of the Health and Human Performance department at the University of Houston.
Dr. Ezemenari Obasi
Ezemenari Obasi, PhD, is Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the College of Education at the University of Houston. He also serves as Director for the HEALTH Research Institute.
Dr. Elizabeth Travis
Elizabeth Travis, PHD, FASTRO, is the Mattie Allen Fair Professor in Cancer Research, Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Sharon Giordano
Sharon Giordano, MD, MPH, is Professor and Department Chair at the Department of Health Services Research, Division of OVP, Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Michael Zvolensky
Michael Zvolensky, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Houston and Director of the Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory and Substance Use Treatment Clinic.
Dr. Qian Lu
Qian Lu, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Health Disparities Research. Her research includes, but is not limited to, cancer survivorship, coping strategies and cultural differences within these strategies, emotion regulation, and biopsychosocial models of pain.
Dr. Robert McPherson
Robert McPherson, PhD, oversees the daily academic affairs, business operations, and administrative support services as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Houston. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Director of Training of Counseling Psychology.
Dr. Sanjay Shete
Sanjay Shete, Ph.D., is a Genetic Epidemiologist and Quantitative Behavioral Statistician with interests in developing statistical methods for genetic, population, and behavioral data. Dr. Shete is director of the Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Stephen J. Spann
Dr. Stephen J. Spann, M.D., M.B.A. is the Planning Dean at UH College of Medicine. He previously served as a clinician in underserved, rural communities in Arkansas and North Carolina, chaired the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and most recently was Chief Medical Officer of Tawam Hospital in the UAE.
Dr. Stuart A. Long
Stuart Long, associate dean of undergraduate research and the Honors College, also holds the position of academic advisor for all Honors students majoring in electrical and computer engineering. He regularly teaches the undergraduate introductory course in electromagnetic waves, and his research involves antenna design and applied electromagnetics. (Ph.D., Harvard University)
Dr. Ernest Hawk
Ernest Hawk, MD, MPH, is vice president and division head for Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and holds the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair for Early Prevention of Cancer. Additional responsibilities include leadership of the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, and co-leadership of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.
Dr. George Wilding
George Wilding, M.D., is the vice president and deputy chief academic officer for clinical and interdisciplinary research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Prior to joining MD Anderson, he served as chair of the Moon Shots Program scientific advisory board, which was launched to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances and significantly reduce cancer deaths. Dr. Wilding's research interests focus on genitourinary cancers, particularly prostate cancer