Telephone: 404-906-8446
Department: Epidemiology
Primary Mentor: Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD (Cancer Epidemiology)
Secondary Mentor: Henry Wang, MD MS (Critical Care)
Justin completed his undergraduate degree in neuropsychology at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts (B.A. 2011). He then completed his master's studies in epidemiology at UAB School of Public Health (M.P.H. 2014).
Justin is currently a pre-doctoral fellow in the Department of Epidemiology where his primary research interests are investigating racial and socioeconomic disparities in infection and cancer-related outcomes. Most significantly, his current interest in cancer and critical care research is the result of his experiences as a student assistant in the Department of Epidemiology and with the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM). Justin has gained considerable practical experience in cancer and clinical research under the mentorship of Dr. Tomi Akinyemiju, Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and Dr. Henry Wang, Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Research of the UAB DEM. Justin has served as the primary epidemiologist/biostatistician for a range of projects in collaboration with Dr. Akinyemiju and Dr. Wang. As a result, Justin has published several research articles investigating racial and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare.
Racial minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations often face substantial barriers to adequate healthcare, greatly affecting quality of life and mortality. Justin’s current research objectives are to examine the association between cancer and sepsis (a systemic inflammatory response to infection), and to identify whether this relationship is modified by race and socioeconomic factors.
As a CPCTP fellow, Justin's dissertation work will address the aforementioned issues by examining the effect of personal, behavioral, community, and healthcare system characteristics on the association between cancer and risk of sepsis. Armed with results from these studies, Justin hopes that it would be possible to target interventions toward improving access to care for underserved individuals and reduce sepsis-associated morbidity and mortality among cancer patients.
Justin's long-term career goal is to become an independent researcher specializing in infection, cancer prevention, and critical care.
View a list of his publications here.
Download Justin's CV here