PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management
Gillings School of Global Public Health
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control
Area of Interest
Lisa Spees, PhD, is a health services researcher interested in examining and reducing health disparities by improving cancer care quality and access among medically underserved populations. To date, her research in this area has focused on identifying multi-level (patient, provider, and organizational) determinants of care across the cancer care continuum using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Spees is especially knowledgeable in handling complex datasets including CIPHR (North Carolina cancer registry data linked to private and public insurance claims data) and SEER-Medicare.
Spees is currently leading projects focused on 1) examining the financial impact of hematopoietic stem cells transplant among pediatric cancer patients and their families and 2) improving access to guideline-concordant care for patients with gynecologic malignancies.
Awards and Honors
- Developmental Pilot Research Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2020-2021
- Cancer Outcomes Research Program Travel Award, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2020
- Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2019
- Postdoctoral Traineeship, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2018-2020
- National Service Research Award Postdoctoral Traineeship, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2016-2018
- Developmental Pilot Research Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2017-2018
- NCTraCS Pilot Grant, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2017-2018
- Chancellor Fellowship, Royster Society of Fellows, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2010-2016
News and Stories
Cervical cancer screening doubles when under-screened women are mailed testing kits
Jennifer Smith, PhD, MPH, Noel Brewer, PhD, and colleagues report mailing HPV self-collection tests and offering assistance to book in-clinic screening appointments to under-screened, low-income women improved cervical cancer screening nearly two-fold compared to scheduling assistance alone.
Expanded community data project will improve understanding of cancer
UNC Lineberger’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement has begun a major, new data-driven initiative that will comprehensively describe the cancer burden in North Carolina.
