Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Email

CCHE Offices and Branches

Within CCHE, there are four branches and the Office of the Director.

Find contact information and staff bios.

Office of the Director

Community Outreach, Research, and Engagement Branch (CORE)

CORE seeks to explore strategies for equitable participation in underserved communities to support engagement, bidirectional communication, and community-engaged cancer disparities research. Further, the branch endeavors to foster cancer education, outreach, partnership, and dissemination efforts. CORE's priorities are to:

  • Increase the participation and representation of diverse populations, particularly underrepresented and underserved groups, in precision oncology (e.g., clinical trials, research studies, biospecimen studies).
  • Enhance culturally and linguistically appropriate community engagement and education efforts to improve cancer prevention, early detection and diagnosis, and survivorship in diverse communities, including underrepresented and medically underserved groups.
  • Promote culturally competent training in areas such as cancer and cancer health disparities (CHD) research, social sciences, behavioral research, clinical practice, and allied health professions.
  • Advance the translation of cancer -omics and precision medicine to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes for diverse groups.
  • Multidisciplinary team science (e.g., genetic risk assessments and genetic counseling).

Disparities Research Branch (DRB)

Health equity is an aspirational goal, whereby all people experience similar health outcomes regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood, or other disadvantaging social and structural determinants of health. DRB seeks to promote this goal through the development and implementation of research initiatives designed to address cancer disparities.

The causes of health disparities are multifactorial, interrelated, and complex. As a result, DRB collaborates across the NCI to support research initiatives for disparities research that span numerous disciplines. DRB's priority areas are:

  • The biological consequences of structural racism and social determinants of health in cancer.
  • Multidisciplinary team science to better embrace and understand the complexity surrounding the causes and effects of health disparities.
  • Environmental justice, including a focus on climate change and cancer.

Diversity Training and Biomedical Workforce Development Branch (DTBWDB)

Expanding and extending the capacity for cancer research by engaging a diverse pool of talented learners in cancer research and supporting their pursuit of a career in cancer research is crucial for improving cancer health equity. NCI is committed to training and developing a strong and diverse workforce of cancer researchers. DTBWDB supports and administers programs and initiatives to develop a diverse pool of cancer researchers. These include fellowships, research career development awards, and cancer education grants for students and scientists at all career levels. The The Center for Cancer Health Equity (CCHE) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Program offers unique training and career development opportunities to enhance and increase diversity in the cancer and cancer disparities research workforce. The CURE program supports promising candidates from middle school through junior investigator levels and provides them with a continuum of competitive funding opportunities. CURE’s holistic approach also includes enhanced career development opportunities through professional development workshops, grant mock reviews. and training navigation to assist trainees with their next step. DTBWDB's priorities are to:

  • Support and develop programs and initiatives aimed at cultivating a diverse cancer workforce, ensuring researchers possess the relevant skills, knowledge, and resources needed to succeed in cancer research.
  • Extend and expand the period of training, providing professional development guidance and mentoring to create a sustainable pathway toward research independence.
  • Emphasize strategic and scientific areas of greatest need (e.g., cancer health disparities research, a broad range of data science areas, multicancer vaccines, interdisciplinary cancer research, etc.) in basic, behavioral, clinical, and translational cancer research to advance the next generation of competitive multidisciplinary cancer researchers from groups underrepresented in cancer research.
  • Promote and enhance early-intervention strategies to engage, inspire, and support a talented and diverse pool of students at the earliest levels of schooling, helping them envision biomedical research as a career path.

Innovative Programs Branch (IPB)

IPB accelerates innovative approaches toward eliminating health disparities by developing and implementing programs, including a focus on enhancing cancer research capacity; leading efforts to integrate cancer research and training expertise; and working across CCHE, NCI, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead coordination of initiatives aimed at achieving cancer health equity.

IPB programs can include but are not limited to diversity training and workforce development, cancer and disparities research, professional development, outreach, education, and mentoring. IPB will also coordinate the management of special programs. IPB's priorities are to:

  • Standardize data collection of CCHE programs
  • Recruit cohort 7 of the iCURE program
  • Updated:
Email