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Judith Lee Smith, PhD

Photo of Dr. Judith Lee Smith

Judith Lee Smith, PhD, is a Senior Behavioral Scientist and Team Lead in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control’s Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch. Dr. Smith joined DCPC in September 2004 and was previously a NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Smith is a co-creator of AMIGAS, a bilingual educational outreach intervention designed to help promotoras (community health workers) and other lay health educators increase cervical cancer screening among Hispanic women who have rarely or never had a Pap test. A recent randomized controlled trial demonstrated the intervention’s effectiveness and cost effectiveness. In 2013, AMIGAS was awarded the CDC/ATSDR Honor Award for Health Equity. Currently, Dr. Smith is leading efforts to adapt AMIGAS for African American women.

Dr. Smith’s research interests include investigating the behavioral, psychosocial, cultural, and system-level factors that impact cancer-related health disparities and cancer survivorship. Her primary areas of focus are colorectal, cervical, prostate, and breast cancers and cancer survivorship. She collaborates domestically and internationally with various institutions and works extensively with diverse populations including African Americans, Hispanics, rural populations, and the uninsured or underinsured. Dr. Smith a co-investigator on several studies examining factors associated with screening uptake, treatment decision-making, non-receipt of surveillance screening, and health outcomes of cancer survivors.

In 2009, Dr. Smith was awarded the Early Career Award in Behavioral and Social Sciences from CDC’s Behavioral and Social Science Working Group in recognition of her work during her tenure at CDC. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Smith represented CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion on the Prevention and Control Sub-Committee and the Full Committee for the Charles C. Shepard Award. Dr. Smith has also served as a member of technical advisory groups for the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and the World Health Organization.

Dr. Smith has authored or co-authored more than 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of General Internal Medicine, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Journal of Oncology Practice, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, Cancer, and Journal of Cancer Survivorship. Some of her more recent articles include—

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