Leadership and Expert Bios

The DCPC Leaders

DCPC is made up of four branches and the Office of the Director. The four branches are the Cancer Surveillance Branch, the Comprehensive Cancer Control Branch, the Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch, and the Program Services Branch. The Office of the Director contains four offices: the Office of Management and Operations, the Office of Communication, the Office of Program Development, and the Office of Policy. For more information, please see the organization chart.

Vicki Benard, PhD
Team Lead, Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch
Dr. Benard's research focuses on cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV). She leads an educational intervention study examining HPV co-testing in Federally Qualified Health Centers in the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.

Ingrid J. Hall, PhD, MPH
Team Lead, Health Services Research Team
Dr. Hall's current research focus is in the area of minority health, particularly finding culturally relevant ways to publicize the need for participation in cancer screening and early detection by minority populations. She also leads the African American Women and Mass Media (AAMM) study.

Commander Djenaba A. Joseph, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Colorectal Cancer Control Program
Dr. Joseph is board certified in internal medicine and is a Commander in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. She joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in DCPC from 2005 to 2007, and remained in DCPC as a medical officer.

Commander Jacqueline Miller, MD
Medical Director, National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
Dr. Miller is a board-certified general surgeon and a Commander with the U.S. Public Health Service. She joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Division of Adult and Community Health from 2002 to 2004, and remained at CDC as a medical officer.

Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH
Associate Director for Science, DCPC
Dr. Richardson oversees the research and scientific content of the Division's programs and products. Her own research focuses on access to cancer care, systems of care, health-related quality of life during cancer treatment, health disparities and racial discrimination, and breast cancer treatment patterns of care.

Judith Lee Smith, PhD
Team Lead, Behavioral and Applied Research Team
Dr. Smith's primary areas of focus are colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cancer survivorship. Currently, she is the CDC Lead and Principal Investigator on a large multisite randomized controlled trial that is implementing and evaluating an intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening in primary care clinics.

Mary C. White, ScD, MPH
Chief, Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch
Dr. White leads a multidisciplinary team that includes epidemiologists, economists, behavioral scientists, medical officers, statisticians, health communicators, and other public health professionals, and provides oversight and guidance for a large portfolio of applied research, surveillance, and science dissemination activities.