Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH

Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH, is DCPC’s Associate Director for Science. Her primary responsibilities include collaborating with DCPC’s director in setting scientific priorities and working with Division staff to maintain a high caliber of scientific integrity in public health activities.

Dr. Richardson’s previous experience has well-positioned her for the lead role in ensuring an interface between programmatic activities and scientific investigations within the Division. From 1997 to 1998, she served as the medical director for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer and Early Detection Program, which is the only organized screening program for low-income uninsured women in the United States. From 1998 to 2000, she was a medical officer in CDC's Division of Blood Disorders, where her main responsibility was to monitor new HIV and hepatitis B and C infections among persons with hemophilia. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Richardson was a faculty member at the University of Florida in Medical Oncology and collaborated extensively with the Florida Cancer Data System, one of the 48 programs funded by the National Program of Cancer Registries. She returned to CDC in 2004 as a medical officer in the Division’s Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch. From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Richardson served as the team lead for Scientific Support and Clinical Translation Team, which supports the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.

Dr. Richardson received her medical degree and Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master in Public Health from the University of Michigan, School of Public Health. She completed her internal medicine residency and hematology/medical oncology fellowship at the University of Florida, School of Medicine. She continues to provide clinical services to cancer patients at the Atlanta Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. Dr. Richardson is a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Dr. Richardson’s education and medical training have shaped her research interests which range from the caring for the individual to broader public health based system changes. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles on breast cancer treatment patterns of care, health-related quality of life during cancer treatment, access to cancer care, systems of care, health disparities and racial discrimination.

• 2011 Testicular cancer: A narrative review of the role of socioeconomic position from risk to survivorship.
• 2011 Vital Signs: colorectal cancer screening, incidence, and mortality—United States, 2002–2010.
• 2011 Use of 2001–2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to characterize cancer survivors in North Carolina.
• 2010 Obesity and endometrial cancer: challenges for public health action.
• 2010 Timeliness of breast cancer diagnosis and initiation of treatment in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, 1996–2005.
• 2010 Vital Signs: breast cancer screening among women aged 50–74 years—United States, 2008.
• 2010 Vital Signs: colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 50–75 years—United States, 2008.
• 2008 Ambulatory care for cancer in the United States: results from 2 national surveys comparing visits to physician's offices and hospital outpatient departments.
• 2008 Health-related quality of life in cancer survivors between ages 20 and 64 years: Population-based estimates from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
• 2008 The role of health-related quality of life in early discontinuation of chemotherapy for breast cancer.
• 2006 Can high-grade cervical lesions be managed in a single clinic visit?
• 2006 The roles of teaching hospitals, insurance status, and race/ethnicity in receipt of adjuvant therapy for regional-stage breast cancer in Florida.
• 2005 Therapy insight: influence of type 2 diabetes on the development, treatment and outcomes of cancer.
• 2001 Early-stage breast cancer treatment among medically underserved women diagnosed in a national screening program, 1992–1995.

Dr. Richardson is featured in the following podcasts—

• Spotting breast cancer early (1:00) [read tip]
• Prevent Infections During Chemotherapy (2:52)
• Timing Is Everything with Breast Cancer (3:06)
• Caught early (1:00)

Dr. Richardson is also featured in CDC Expert on Medscape: New Tool to Prevent Infections During Chemotherapy (link requires free registration)