UTH

Alumna Carves Path in Cancer Prevention and Control

Melissa Lopez Varon

Alumna Melissa Lopez Varon, PhD, MS, has built her career at the intersection of cancer prevention and global health. Her path into public health began when she recognized the urgent need for multidisciplinary teams to work beyond traditional clinical expertise. Through this information collaborative work, epidemiologists and providers may create effective cancer prevention and control strategies to better serve communities.

This realization led her to pursue her doctoral training at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, equipping her with the skills to design, implement, and evaluate global programs. In 2022, she completed her PhD in Epidemiology with a concentration in community health practice and an emphasis in global health.

Today, she serves as Director of Global Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Program Director of a cervical cancer prevention project supported by a Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas grant. Through these roles, Lopez Varon collaborates with strategic partners in Texas and across the globe to strengthen cancer prevention, control, and capacity-building efforts for communities in resource-limited settings.

“My work allows me to travel to different partner sites to support training, as well as operations and administration of different programs in place,” she explained. As a director, she shares strategies and evidence-based tools to implement sustainable skills and organizational structures across health systems. “My main strategy for success is always to do my best to support our partners with respect and admiration for their work in their own settings and culture.”

For Lopez Varon, the most rewarding aspect of her work is working closely with healthcare providers in the areas of cervical and breast cancer prevention and early detection, as well as supporting policy changes. By sharing translatable skills and proven evidence-based solutions, researchers can support clinicians to improve women's healthcare. Though challenges remain, the impact and care she brings to her work and research in expanding access is a constant driver.

As an epidemiologist and public health leader, Lopez Varon drives forward the critical role of global collaborations in cancer prevention and control through her work. “Public health has become more and more central to the health of our communities,” she said. “Our community of public health professionals has learned so many lessons, which include strengthening our communication strategies with different audiences and remaining flexible to allow for changes of direction where it fits.” As a population, the difference in communities remains a key component of designing and implementing successful health initiatives and interventions.

Looking ahead, she is committed to expanding access, working amongst health care providers and researchers to strengthen training and advance solutions to reduce the global burden of cancer.

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Founded in 1967, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health was Texas' first public health school and remains a nationally ranked leader in graduate public health education. Since opening its doors in Houston nearly 60 years ago, the school has established five additional locations across the state, including Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio. Across five academic departments — Biostatistics and Data Science; Epidemiology; Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Health Promotion and Behavioral Science; and Management, Policy & Community Health — students learn to collaborate, lead, and transform the field of public health through excellence in graduate education.

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