UAB Division of Surgical Oncology Associate Professor Annabelle Fonseca, M.D., MHS, has been awarded a $296,618 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for her project “A Patient-Centric Approach to Improving Guideline-Concordant Care in Pancreatic Cancer: Using Modifiable Barriers to Identify Patients at Risk for Disparities.”

This Pancreatic Cancer Research Program Focused Pilot Award grant, provided through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity Award, will fund two years of research and development. The award will support the exploration and development of impactful and innovative patient-centric approaches to addressing barriers to the implementation of health care. This project aims to fill a gap that exists in the delivery of care to patients with pancreatic cancer by using patient-centric and stakeholder-informed approaches to identifying barriers in in access and adherence to surgical and systemic therapies among patients with pancreatic cancer. The results of their research will also inform the development of a risk prediction algorithm to prospectively identify patients with pancreatic cancer at risk for non-receipt or non-completion of guideline-concordant treatment.

Fonseca has received over $1 million dollars in research funding thus far. The long-term goals of her research are to reduce sociodemographic-based disparities in pancreatic and other foregut cancers through systems-wide implementation of early screening for patients at risk for non-receipt of therapy and early intervention.

“This research funding will help us work towards improving quality and equity in the delivery of cancer care. This research will allow us to identify patients with pancreatic cancer at risk for not receiving guideline concordant care early, and early identification is the first step to intervene, thus helping us get one step closer to mitigation of disparities in the treatment of pancreatic cancer” Fonseca said.

Fonseca joined UAB as an associate professor in the Department of Surgery last fall. She is dual board-certified in General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology. As a member of the UAB Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship, she conducts health services research with a focus on improving the quality and delivery of complex oncologic care for foregut cancers.