LEADERS

Dr. Lorraine R. Reitzel, FSRNT, FAAHB is a Professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research program focuses on tobacco control, implementation science, and the social determinants of disparities in cancer-related risk behaviors and associated clinical endpoints. She is the co-founder and former co-director (2016-2020) of the HEALTH Research Institute, a multidisciplinary university-level research institute focused on the conduct of community-informed translational research to reduce health disparities experienced locally at the University of Houston and across the nation. Dr. Reitzel is the Principal Investigator of the Taking Texas Tobacco Free program, which has been supported since 2013 through 10 grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and was one of 2 Principal Investigators of the UHAND Educational, Training and Research Program, funded by the National Cancer Institute. She formerly served as a Co-Investigator on UH’s NIMHD-supported RCMI, the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention, directing its Community Engagement Core and its Investigator Development Core, and has long been involved in IRB committees, including as IRB1 Chair at the University of Houston (2015-2022). Dr. Reitzel has a history of sustained team science funding from the National Institutes of Health (e.g., R01, R21, P20, P60, U54), the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas, and UnitedHealth Foundation where she’s served as the primary or co-investigator.