Marquita Lewis-Thames, PhD
Assistant Professor, Medical Social Sciences
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
Dr. Lewis-Thames is a health behavior and health promotion researcher with experience in using community-based approaches to examine individual- and community-level determinants of health that improve cancer disease management for rural residents and African Americans. Her current focus is on rural health and cancer survivorship and has publications investigating 1) lung cancer disease risk factors, 2) lung cancer screening, and 3) cancer survivorship for rural residents. She is particularly interested in supports to overcome barriers to care (i.e. financial insecurity, social isolation, and transportation burdens) to improve access to care for rural residents who live considerable distances from a trusted healthcare provider. The goal of her research is the development of sustainable programming, informed by community and clinical partners, which increases access to local healthcare resources and moves the needle on health disparities for high-risk and medically underserved populations. She is also a member of the Center for Community Health.