Camille Ragin Receives Second NIH Grant to Study Cancer and Cardiovascular Risk in Caribbean Countries

Camille Ragin, PhD, MPH

PHILADELPHIA (November 26, 2018) – Camille Ragin, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the amount of $3.3 million to study cancer and cardiovascular disease risk (CVD) in Caribbean countries.

The leadership team includes Ragin at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Dr. Marshall Tulloch-Reid, Epidemiologist and Endocrinologist at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica and Dr. Kimlin Ashing, Behavioral Scientist at the City of Hope Cancer Center.

“Cancer and CVD continue to be the leading causes of death in the Caribbean region,” said Ragin. “This grant will further our work toward the goal of reducing the burden of these largely preventable diseases in the Caribbean.”

In 2017, Ragin earned a grant from the NIH to create a center of research excellence at the University of the West Indies to focus on cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It was the first step toward developing a broader network of Caribbean centers of excellence, which will increase research collaboration to address these diseases throughout the region. Since one in ten Blacks living in the US are foreign born and Caribbean nationals make up more than 50 percent of the Non-Hispanic Black immigrant population in the US, Ragin’s efforts in the Caribbean also supports US-Caribbean comparative studies to address cancer disparities affecting US Blacks.

Ragin founded and leads the African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium (AC3). This
NIH-funded center builds and extends strong partnerships to further the study of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental cancer risk among persons of African ancestry.

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

For more information, call 888-369-2427

Resize Text

Related Articles