Building Cancer Research Capacity in Africa

Africans suffer from disproportionately high rates of cancer, and cancer mortality is expected to more than double in Africa in the next 25 years. To address this pending public health crisis, capacity for research, workforce, and clinical care must be developed.

In this presentation, Dr. Rebbeck will offer an exposition of the problems and suggestions to address them. Examples include the development of research and clinical translation by the Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate (MADCaP) Network that builds an African knowledge base around factors driving prostate cancer disparities in Africa. Additional initiatives like the African Oncogenetics Network and the STARS Training Program further enhance research capacity by training African scientists, establishing biobanks, supporting mentorship, and ensuring sustainable, high-impact cancer research infrastructure that benefits both African communities and the global scientific community.

This event is free and open to the public and will include time for audience Q&A. 

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Speaker 

Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD
Vincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Timothy R. Rebbeck is the founding director of the Zhu Family Center for Global Cancer Prevention at Harvard Chan School and director of the Center for Global Health Equity at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He directs large, multi-center studies and international consortia that have identified genetic, molecular, and epidemiological factors associated with cancer risk, outcomes, and disparities. He leads the international Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate (MADCaP) network and has led a number of consortia studying hereditary cancer risk and prevention. He also directs the NCI-funded African cancer STARS training program that supports career development for African cancer researchers and project managers. Dr. Rebbeck has mentored over 65 trainees, most of whom hold positions in academia. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1994. Dr. Rebbeck joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard Chan School in 2015 as the Vincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention.

About the Global Health Coffee Sessions

The Global Health Coffee Sessions is a virtual series of timely conversations on wide-ranging topics at the intersection of health, policy, and global cooperation. The series brings together global health experts, policymakers, and practitioners from Harvard and beyond for dynamic, forward-looking discussions.

All sessions are hosted virtually via Zoom, recorded, and available afterward on our YouTube Channel.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.