Judith Lee Smith, PhD

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.

She recently completed two randomized controlled trials examining ways to increase colorectal cancer screening in primary care clinics and increase cervical cancer screening in Hispanic women (AMIGAS). Dr. Smith is also a co-investigator on several projects funded by DCPC examining behavioral factors associated with treatment decision-making, non-receipt of surveillance screening, and screening uptake.

Dr. Smith’s research interests include investigating the social, cultural, behavioral, and psychological factors that impact cancer prevention and control, health disparities, cancer survivorship, and patient outcomes. Her primary areas of focus are colorectal, cervical, prostate, and breast cancers and cancer survivorship. She collaborates with various institutions and works with diverse populations including African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, rural populations, and the uninsured or underinsured.

Dr. Smith is also a technical scientific reviewer for the Evidence-based Education and Outreach Task Group for the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and serves as a peer reviewer for several journals. From 2009–2011, 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. 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. More recently, Dr. Smith has served as a member of a cervical cancer technical advisory group for the World Health Organization.

Some of the most recent articles Dr. Smith has authored or co-authored include—

• 2013 Assessment of the status of A National Action Plan for Cancer Survivorship in the USA.
• 2013 AMIGAS: A multicity, multicomponent cervical cancer prevention trial among Mexican American women.
• 2013. Variation in primary care physicians’ colorectal cancer screening recommendations by patient age and health status.
• 2012 Using intervention mapping as a participatory strategy: Development of a cervical cancer intervention for Hispanic women.
• 2012 Physician over-recommendation of mammography for terminally ill women.
• 2011 Tailoring cancer education and support programs for low income, primarily African American cancer survivors.
• 2011 Physicians’ colorectal cancer screening discussion and recommendation patterns.
• 2011 Colorectal cancer screening use among insured primary care patients.
• 2009 Addressing cancer survivorship through public health: An update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.