MD, MSHPM
Associate Professor, Urology
Director of Urologic Oncology, UNC Department of Urology
Co-Director, Urologic Oncology Program
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control
Meet Ray Tan
Area of Interest
My research focus has centered on the study of cancer care delivery and the translation of care improvements, especially for high-risk populations including the elderly. To pursue this work, I have undertaken in-depth training in health services research and urologic oncology. During my residency in urology at the University of Michigan, I spent an entire year immersed in our department’s health services research division, under the tutelage of Drs. David Miller, John Wei, and Brent Hollenbeck. Here, I gained proficiency in administrative claims, large dataset, and econometric techniques. Thereafter, I obtained post-graduate training at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program and a Society of Urologic Oncology fellowship. During this time, I received formal training in advanced statistical methods, earning a Masters of Science in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Under the guidance of Dr. Mark Litwin, I also broadened my methodological base with additional training in patient-reported outcomes, qualitative methods, quality improvement, community-based participatory research, and implementation science.
Now, I am an Associate Professor and Director of Urologic Oncology in the Department of Urology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Urologic Oncology Program. My current research focuses on health communication and the development of decision support tools to enhance surgeon and patient decision-making, supported by my American Cancer Society Mentored Research Scholar Grant entitled, “Designing visual tools to enhance cancer surgeon decision-making,” and my Department of Defense Idea Development Award entitled, “Personalizing kidney cancer information to support patient-centered decision making.” In these extramurally funded projects, I employ stakeholder engagement, mixed methods, and user-centered design to understand patient and provider perspectives and design usable interventions to meet their specific needs.
Awards and Honors
- Young Urologist of the Year Award, American Urological Association, 2024
- James W. Woods Junior Faculty Award, UNC School of Medicine, 2021-2022
- 1st Place, Poster Session II, Society Urologic Oncology 2015 Winter Meeting, Washington, DC, 2015
- 2nd Place, Julian Wan Research Excellence Award, Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2012
- Best Poster, 2012 American Urological Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, 2012
- Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in Clinical Skills and the Art of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007
- Cum Laude, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007
- Alpha Omega Alpha, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007
- Annual Medical Student Scholarship, Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007
- Magna Cum Laude, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2002
- Thomas J. Watson Merit Scholarship, 1999-2002
- Dean’s List, Duke University, Durham, NC, 1999-2002
News and Stories
Navigating cancer: Understanding tumor grades and stages
UNC Health oncologists and pathologist provide a basic overview of staging cancers and grading tumors, and why these categories are important to your medical team.
Supporting men after testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young adult males. While testicular cancer is very treatable, “there are a lot of survivorship implications,” says Hung-Jui “Ray” Tan, MD.
