Research Summary

My research focuses on understanding the role of social determinants of health in shaping and perpetuating cancer health disparities. One main area of focus is on place and health. I have participated as a Co-Investigator on several research projects evaluating how neighborhood characteristics (e.g., social, built, and physical environment attributes) and geographic variation may shape cancer-related health behaviors and outcomes across the cancer continuum. In addition, my research has included efforts to better characterize neighborhoods for population health studies (neighborhood archetypes, virtual audits with Google Street View). Our team is also working on multiple ways to enhance the neighborhood data for existing cohorts to better understand the role of neighborhoods in cancer outcomes, including asking participants about their neighborhoods and whether they utilize the resources as well as constructing residential histories to study impact of neighborhood change. My research has also focused on understanding how factors related to social status (race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and immigration) impact health disparities, particularly applying an intersectional lens. During my post-doc, I led a multidisciplinary team in the development of a discrimination measure for the California Health Interview Survey, where we applied a mixed methods approach to testing and validating the measure. Since then, I have continued to study self-reported experiences of discrimination (across a variety of domains, including medical discrimination) and its impact on health behaviors and outcomes, including quality of life among breast cancer survivors.

Research Funding

  • July 8, 2024 - June 30, 2029 - A national Asian American cohort for assessing multi-level determinants in cancer etiology: the ASPIRE Cohort , Multiple Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA290831
  • September 24, 2022 - June 30, 2027 - Understanding the impact of structural racism on racial/ethnic inequities in mortality: The Multiethnic Cohort Study , Multiple Principal Investigator (contact) . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01MD017762
  • April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2025 - Ethnicity and Nativity in Cancer - Latino & Asian Enclaves: The ENCLAVE Study , Multiple Principal Investigator (Contact) . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA237540
  • August 16, 2019 - July 31, 2024 - Understanding the Multilevel Drivers of Liver Cancer Disparities , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA225478
  • September 1, 2017 - February 28, 2019 - Impact of Neighborhoods and Navigation on Survivorship , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Breast Cancer Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: 23AB-1501
  • February 1, 2016 - January 31, 2018 - Impact of social and built environments on health-related quality of life for cancer survivors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA202192
  • September 19, 2016 - December 18, 2017 - Patient generated health data (PGHD) to enhance SEER data collection , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: National Cancer Institute, Sponsor Award ID: HHSN26100011
  • May 1, 2016 - August 31, 2017 - Addressing disparities in colorectal cancer outcomes: the role of neighborhoods , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Stanford Cancer Institute, Sponsor Award ID:
  • September 16, 2014 - August 31, 2017 - Developing Neighborhood Archetypes for Understanding Disparities in Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA174469
  • January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015 - Using Google Street View to Assess Neighborhoods for Population Health Research , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Stanford University (Spectrum), Sponsor Award ID:

Education

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, B.A., 05/1996, Biological Basis of Behavior
Columbia University, New York, NY, M.P.H., 05/1998, Sociomedical Sciences
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Ph.D., 05/2007, Social & Behavioral Sciences
National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 03/2010, Cancer Prevention

Honors & Awards

  • 1998-1999
    Community Fellowship Award, Open Society Institute
  • 2002-2006
    Pre-Doctoral Cancer Training Grant, NCI (awarded to Johns Hopkins University)
  • 2005-2006
    Health, Behavior and Society Departmental Dissertation Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • 2005-2006
    The Carol Eliasberg Martin Scholarship in Cancer Prevention, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • 2005-2006
    The John C. Hume Doctoral Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • 2008
    Director's Award for outstanding leadership in the development of novel methods for the evaluation of data collection instruments used across populations with multiple languages and cultures (group award), National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
  • 2009
    Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE), National Institutes of Health
  • 2009
    Cancer Prevention Research Training Merit Award, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
  • 2011
    Travel Award to NIH-supported Training Program in Advanced Spatial Analysis, MultilevelModeling workshop, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
  • 2012-2014
    Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program, National Institutes of Health
  • 2015-2017
    Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program (renewal), National Institutes of Health
  • 2016-2017
    Quick Start Training Program, California Breast Cancer Research Program

Selected Publications

  1. Nana Shakhnazaryan, Jenna Winebaum, Lufan Wang, Angad Jhandi, Nathan Nguyen, Janet Cowan, Peter Carroll, June Chan, Salma Shariff-Marco, Samuel Washington. IMPACT OF SOCIAL VULNERABILITY ON TRENDS IN THE TREATMENT OF LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER IN COMMUNITY UROLOGY PRACTICES FROM 1998 TO 2017. Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations. 2025 Mar 1; 43(3):76-77.  View on PubMed
  2. Nonna Shakhnazaryan, Angad Jhandi, Lufan Wang, Janet Cowan, June Chan, Salma Shariff-Marco, Peter Carroll, Samuel Washington. INTERSECTION OF INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL SES, COMMUNITY LEVEL STRESSORS, AND TREATMENT OUTCOMES FOR MEN WITH INTERMEDIATE AND HIGH-RISK PROSTATE CANCER. Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations. 2025 Mar 1; 43(3):4-5.  View on PubMed
  3. Santiago-Rodriguez EJ, Shariff-Marco S, Bailey ZD, White JS, Allen IE, Hiatt RA. Residential segregation and colorectal cancer screening in the United States, 2010-2018. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Feb 19.  View on PubMed
  4. Jason Lloyd Goodloe, Samuel L Washington, Lufan Wang, Janet E Cowan, Hao Nguyen, Peter Carroll, June M. Chan, Salma Shariff-Marco. Evaluating social vulnerability as a key determinant of definitive treatment for Black men with clinically localized prostate cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2025 Feb 10; 43(5_suppl):323-323.  View on PubMed
  5. Jason Lloyd Goodloe, Samuel L Washington, Lufan Wang, Janet E Cowan, Hao Nguyen, Peter Carroll, June M. Chan, Salma Shariff-Marco. Examining community social vulnerability domains and influence on treatment selection for men with prostate cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2025 Feb 10; 43(5_suppl):363-363.  View on PubMed
  6. Nana Shakhnazaryan, Jenna Winebaum, Lufan Wang, Angad Jhandi, Nathan Nguyen, Janet E Cowan, Peter Carroll, June M. Chan, Salma Shariff-Marco, Samuel L Washington. Exploring social vulnerability in prostate cancer management: Insights into utilization of watchful waiting and active surveillance from 1998 to 2017. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2025 Feb 10; 43(5_suppl):322-322.  View on PubMed
  7. Park SL, Lichtensztajn D, Yang J, Wu J, Shariff-Marco S, Stram DO, Inamdar P, Fruin S, Larsen T, Tseng C, Setiawan VW, Gomez SL, Samet J, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Ritz B, Wu AH, Cheng I. Ambient Air Pollution and COPD: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2025 Jan 23.  View on PubMed
  8. Wang K, Canchola AJ, McKinley M, Guan A, Vu A, Lin K, Meltzer D, Dixit N, Chu JN, Idossa D, Van Blarigan EL, Cheng I, Shariff-Marco S, Gomez SL. Disparities in Cancer Stage Shifts Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in California, 2020 to 2021. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Jan 09; 34(1):139-150.  View on PubMed
  9. Kresovich JK, Richards AR, Ergas IJ, Cannioto R, Thomsen C, Laurent CA, Shariff-Marco S, Rillamas-Sun E, Kolevska T, Yao S, Ambrosone C, Kushi L, Greenlee H, Kwan ML. Physical activity and incident cardiovascular disease in breast cancer survivors: the Pathways Study. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2025 Jan 03; 9(1).  View on PubMed
  10. Rathod R, Beauchamp A, Shahan K, Lin K, Henry K, Shariff-Marco S, Pruitt SL, Hughes A. Neighborhood Factors Related to Cancer Screening in Texas: A Spatioecological Study. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Dec 24.  View on PubMed
  11. Sangaramoorthy M, Li Y, Gibbons J, Yang J, Ihenacho U, Lin K, Inamdar PP, Chen F, Wu AH, Haiman CA, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Shariff-Marco S, Cheng I. Neighborhood Racial and Ethnic Composition Typology and Breast Cancer Risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Dec 10.  View on PubMed
  12. Gomez SL, DeRouen M, Chen MS, Wakelee H, Velotta JB, Sakoda LC, Shariff-Marco S, Reynolds P, Cheng I. Elevated risk of lung cancer among asian American females who have never smoked: an emerging cancer disparity. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2024 Nov 20.  View on PubMed
  13. Oh DL, Wang K, Goldberg D, Schumacher K, Yang J, Lin K, Gomez SL, Shariff-Marco S. Disparities in Cancer Stage of Diagnosis by Rurality in California, 2015 to 2019. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Nov 01; 33(11):1523-1531.  View on PubMed
  14. Walsh CP, Shariff-Marco S, Lee Y, Wilkens LR, Marchand LL, Haiman CA, Cheng I, Park SL. Joint Association of Education and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status with Smoking Behavior: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Res Sq. 2024 Nov 01.  View on PubMed
  15. Truong A, McKinley M, Gomez SL, Kim MO, Shariff-Marco S, Cheng I. The role of ethnic enclaves and neighborhood socioeconomic status in invasive breast cancer incidence rates among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander females in California. Cancer Causes Control. 2025 Feb; 36(2):183-189.  View on PubMed
  16. John EM, Koo J, Ingles SA, Keegan TH, Gomez SL, Haiman CA, Kurian AW, Kwan ML, Neuhausen SL, Shariff-Marco S, Thomsen C, Wu AH, Cheng I. Risk factors for second primary breast cancer by laterality, age, and race and ethnicity. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2024 Oct 11.  View on PubMed
  17. Wu AH, Wu J, Tseng C, Stram DO, Shariff-Marco S, Larson T, Goldberg D, Fruin S, Jiao A, Inamdar PP, Ihenacho U, Le Marchand L, Wilkens L, Haiman C, Ritz B, Cheng I. Air Pollution and Breast Cancer Incidence in the Multiethnic Cohort Study. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Jan 20; 43(3):273-284.  View on PubMed
  18. Bitsie KR, Pearson TA, Kwan ML, Yaghjyan L, Scarton L, Shariff-Marco S, Kushi LH, Cheng TD. Race and ethnicity and self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination in breast cancer patient interactions with providers in the Pathways Study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025 Jan; 209(2):355-366.  View on PubMed
  19. Mohamed Hisham Siddeek, Salma Shariff-marco, Meg Mckinley, Ma Somsouk. S504 Characterizing 5-Year Survival in U.S. Adults Diagnosed With Advanced Stage Colorectal Cancer Using the SEER Registry 2000-2021. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2024 Oct 1; 119(10S):s353-s354.  View on PubMed
  20. Guan A, Shariff-Marco S, Henry KA, Lin K, Meltzer D, Canchola AJ, Arizpe A, Rathod AB, Hughes AE, Kroenke CH, Gomez SL, Hiatt RA, Stroup AM, Pinheiro PS, Boscoe F, Zhu H, Pruitt SL. Latino Enclaves and Healthcare Accessibility: An Ecologic Study Across Five States. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Mar; 40(4):739-748.  View on PubMed

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