Vicki Benard, PhD
Vicki Benard, PhD, is an epidemiologist with more than 20 years’ experience working in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. In her current position as Chief of the Cancer Surveillance Branch, she leads the National Program of Cancer Registries, capturing cancer incidence data from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories. Her focus has been on innovative approaches to cancer data collection and dissemination.
Dr. Benard earned her doctorate in biometry and epidemiology from the Medical University of South Carolina. She first joined DCPC in 1998 as a contractor working with the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) to conduct a needs assessment of epidemiologic capacity in cancer control. Two years later, she became a staff epidemiologist in the Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch, and in 2008 became the lead of the Epi Team overseeing the work of programs and partners to address national priorities in cancer prevention and control. Much of her research has examined cervical cancer control and screening practices within the NBCCEDP, and she is well published on these issues. She recently led a study with cancer registries to collect data on cervical cancer survivors to understand why women continue to develop this largely preventable disease.
Dr. Benard shares her perspective in the blog post, “Cancer Registry Data: In the Clouds.”
Selected articles Dr. Benard has authored include—
- 2021 A population study of screening history and diagnostic outcomes of women with invasive cervical cancer.
- 2021 Learning from cervical cancer survivors: An examination of barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening among women in the United States.
- 2021 Pursuing data modernization in cancer surveillance by developing a cloud-based computing platform: Real-time cancer case collection.
- 2020 Using informatics to improve cancer surveillance.
- 2020 Visualizing cancer incidence and mortality estimates by congressional districts, United States 2012–2016.
- 2020 Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, part I: National cancer statistics.
- 2020 Ocular melanoma incidence rates and trends in the United States, 2001-2016.
- 2020 Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, part II: Progress toward Healthy People 2020 objectives for 4 common cancers.
- 2020 Breast and colorectal cancer recurrence and progression captured by five U.S. population-based registries: Findings from National Program of Cancer Registries patient-centered outcome research.
- 2019 Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1999–2015, featuring cancer in men and women ages 20–49.
- 2019 Overview of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s case investigation of cervical cancer study.
- 2017 Cervical cancer survival in the United States by race and stage (2001–2009): findings from the CONCORD-2 study.
- 2016 Population-based incidence rates of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in the human papillomavirus vaccine era.
- 2016 Change in provider beliefs regarding cervical cancer screening intervals after an educational intervention.
- 2015 The effectiveness of targeting never or rarely screened women in a national cervical cancer screening program for underserved women.
- 2014 Vital Signs: Cervical cancer incidence, mortality, and screening—United States, 2007–2012.