Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Health Communication
Howard University
2020

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

Health Disparities
Howard University
2005

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Biology
Howard University
2002

Health Communication

Population Health

Community Engagement

Cancer Disparities

Dittmar, K. M., Xie, J., Hunter, F., Trimble, C., Bur, M., Frenkel, V., & Li, K. C. (2005). Pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound enhances systemic administration of naked DNA in squamous cell carcinoma model: Initial experience. Radiology, 235(2), 541–546.

Population Health (Unit I, II, III) - College of Medicine

Faculty preceptor for the Population Health Course: Includes coursework and clinical experiences that address social determinants of health, health equity, and the importance of interprofessional collaboration. 

Principles of Public Health Practice - Graduate School, Master of Public Health Program

Lecturer - Public Health Finance and Research Infrastructure: Budget Preparation 101

Family Medicine Research Rotation - Howard University Hospital

This is a 3-week rotation in the PGY-3 year designed to provide a basic foundation in research. It builds on ongoing research and scholarly activity that is provided longitudinally throughout all three years of residency training. Residents work to develop skills in the following areas: 1) critical review of the literature and application of evidence-based medicine, 2) introduction to research methods, 3) office-based data collection and data analysis, and 4) identification of resources including information technology.

AACR Minority & Minority-serving Institution in Cancer Research Faculty Scholar Award

I received the 2023 Minority and Minority-Serving Institution in Cancer Research (AACR-MICR) Faculty Scholar Award to the attend the 16TH AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities October 2023.  Recipients of this award are scientists who are working at the level of Assistant Professor or above who are engaged in meritorious basic, clinical, or translational cancer research. Since its inception in 1997, this award program has been supported by a generous grant provided by the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities.

The Distinguished Service Award, Howard University College of Medicine

I received a plaque and monetary award in recognition of the exemplary and outstanding dedication, dilligence and professionalism exhibited during my years of service to the College of Medicine on Honors and Awards Day on November 12, 2019.

Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD Health Equity Travel Scholarship

I received a travel scholarship to attend the Spring 2025 ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group conference, and I was recognized for my commitment to cancer research and patient care. 

Racial and Ethnic Makeup in Hospital's Social Media and Online Platforms

Racial and Ethnic Makeup in Hospital's Social Media and Online Platforms: Visual Representation of Diversity in Images and Videos of Washington, D.C. Hospitals

While hospitals' health promotion via social media has the potential to be a critical source of health information, research shows racial and ethnic disparities exist in health-related knowledge that may be, in part, related to media representation. The purpose of this study is to examine the racial and ethnic representation of people featured in Washington, D.C. hospitals' social media platforms to understand how hospitals embed cultural competency into their health communication.

Place of birth, cancer beliefs and being current with colon cancer screening among US adults

Place of birth, cancer beliefs and being current with colon cancer screening among US adults

Historically, studies suggested that immigrants acquire the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) as US-born persons within the same generation. CRC risk of immigrants is largely unknown in this era of cancer screening and widespread immigration. We investigated the association of place of birth and cancer beliefs with uptake of CRC screening. The 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey was used and 4,299 respondents (weighted population size=81,896,392) who were 50 years and older (3,960 US-born and 339 foreign-born) were identified. We defined being current with CRC screening guidelines as the use of fecal occult blood test within 1 year, sigmoidoscopy within 5 years, or colonoscopy within 10 years. We compared being up-to-date with CRC screening among foreign-born versus US-born respondents. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Evaluation findings from genetics and family health history community-based workshops for African Americans

Evaluation findings from genetics and family health history community-based workshops for African Americans

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation and effectiveness of community education workshops to change genetics and health-related knowledge, intentions, and behavior of urban African Americans. Eight workshops were held and 183 participants consented to participate in the study. A majority of the participants were African American (97%) and female (84%) and just over half were 65 years and older (60%), and had some high school or were high school graduates (52%).

Family history of cancer associated with breast tumor clinicopathological features

Family history of cancer associated with breast tumor clinicopathological features

Hereditary breast cancers have unique clinicopathological characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the relationship between self-reported family history of cancer and clinicopathological features in breast cancer patients from Washington, DC. Data on incident breast cancer cases from 2000 to 2010 were obtained from the Washington, DC Cancer Registry.

Rhodamine-RCA in vivo labeling guided laser capture microdissection

Rhodamine-RCA in vivo labeling guided laser capture microdissection of cancer functional angiogenic vessels in a murine squamous cell carcinoma mouse model

Cancer growth, invasion and metastasis are highly related to tumor-associated neovasculature. The presence and progression of endothelial cells in cancer is chaotic, unorganized, and angiogenic vessels are less functional. Therefore, not all markers appearing on the chaotic endothelial cells are accessible if a drug is given through the vascular route. Identifying endothelial cell markers from functional cancer angiogenic vessels will indicate the accessibility and potential efficacy of vascular targeted therapies. In order to quickly and effectively identify endothelial cell markers on the functional and accessible tumor vessels, we developed a novel technique by which tumor angiogenic vessels are labeled in vivo followed by Laser Capture Microdissection of microscopically isolated endothelial cells for genomic screening.

Pulsed-high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposures for enhanced delivery of therapeutics

Pulsed-high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposures for enhanced delivery of therapeutics: Mechanisms and applications

The majority of focused ultrasound applications today involve long, continuous exposures that produce significant temperature elevations for tissue ablation and irreversible coagulative necrosis. Comparatively little has been done with non‐continuous (or, pulsed) exposures that can produce primarily mechanical effects with only minimal heat. Our investigations have shown that pulsed‐HIFU exposures can non‐invasively and non‐destructively enhance the delivery of both systemically and locally injected materials (e.g. imaging agents, optical probes, and plasmid DNA) in both normal and cancerous tissues.

Gadolinium-Rhodamine Nanoparticles for Cell Labeling and Tracking

Gadolinium-Rhodamine Nanoparticles for Cell Labeling and Tracking via Magnetic Resonance and Optical Imaging

A novel dual-labeled nanoparticle for use in labeling and tracking cells in vivo is described. We report the construction and characterization of these gadolinium-rhodamine nanoparticles. These particles are constructed from lipid monomers with diacetylene bonds that are sonicated and photolyzed to form polymerized nanoparticles. Cells are efficiently labeled with these nanoparticles. We have inoculated labeled tumor cells subcutaneouosly into the flanks of C3H mice and have been able to image these labeled tumor cells via MRI and optical imaging. Furthermore, the labeled tumor cells can be visualized via fluorescent microscopy after tissue biopsy. Our results suggest that these nanoparticles could be used to track cells in vivo. This basic platform can be modified with different fluorophores and targeting agents for studying metastisic cell, stem cell, and immune cell trafficking among other applications.

Synthesis, in vitro, and in vivo characterization

Synthesis, in vitro, and in vivo characterization of an integrin alpha(v) beta (3)-targeted molecular probe for optical imaging of tumor

Integrin alpha(v)beta(3) is a widely-recognized target for the development of targeted molecular probes for imaging pathological conditions. alpha(v)beta(3) is a cell-surface receptor protein that is upregulated in various pathological conditions including osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration, and cancer. The synthesis of an alpha(v)beta(3)-targeted optical probe 7 from compound 1, and its in vitro and in vivo characterization is described. A series of aliphatic carbamate derivatives of the potent non-peptide integrin antagonist 1 was synthesized and the binding affinity to alpha(v)beta(3) was determined in both enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and cell adhesion inhibition assays.

Pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound

Pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound enhances systemic administration of naked DNA in squamous cell carcinoma model: Initial experience

Purpose: To determine whether exposures to pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound can enhance local delivery and expression of a reporter gene, administered with systemic injection of naked DNA, in tumors in mice.