Improving health engagement and lifestyle management for breast cancer survivors with diabetes.

Rebecca Shelby, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and the Director of Education and Training for the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.  Dr. Shelby is a member of the Duke Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program and the Duke Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program. Dr. Shelby completed her graduate training in clinical psychology at the Ohio State University and her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.  Her research focuses on developing and evaluating behavioral interventions for cancer patients, management of cancer pain and treatment side effects, and improving adherence to recommended care. Dr. Shelby serves on the Duke clinical psychology internship faculty and supervises clinical psychology fellows, interns, and clinical psychology graduate practicum students completing clinical rotations as part of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.   

Caroline Dorfman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University. Dr. Dorfman is a member of the Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program and the Cancer Symptom Management and Support Program within the Duke Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is also a member of the Duke Cancer Institute where she serves as the Director of Research and Behavioral Medicine for the Duke Teen and Young Adult Oncology Program. Dr. Dorfman completed her graduate training in clinical psychology at the Ohio State University and her clinical internship at Duke University Medical Center. Her research focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating psychosocial and behavioral interventions designed to meet the needs of cancer survivors and their partners/families. She is particularly interested in conducting research to address the unique needs of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. 

Sarah Arthur is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at Duke University. She is a member of the Duke Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program, working under Frank Keefe and Rebecca Shelby. She studies a variety of topics in the area of reproductive and sexual health, including: (1) defining, understanding, and enhancing sexual well-being during the transition to parenthood; and (2) identifying and understanding predictors of treatment-related pain, distress, and other symptoms in cancer patients (especially breast and gynecologic cancers). 

Dr. Bosworth is a health services researcher and Deputy Director of the Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT)  at the Durham VA Medical Center. He is also Vice Chair of Education and Professor of Population Health Sciences. He is also a Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in Health Policy and Administration at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests comprise three overarching areas of research: 1) clinical research that provides knowledge for improving patients’ treatment adherence and self-management in chronic care; 2) translation research to improve access to quality of care; and 3) eliminate health care disparities. 

Dr. Bosworth is the recipient of an American Heart Association established investigator award, the 2013 VA Undersecretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research (The annual award is the highest honor for VA health services researchers), and a VA Senior Career Scientist Award. In terms of self-management, Dr. Bosworth has expertise developing interventions to improve health behaviors related to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and depression, and has been developing and implementing tailored patient interventions to reduce the burden of other chronic diseases. These trials focus on motivating individuals to initiate health behaviors and sustaining them long term and use members of the healthcare team, particularly pharmacists and nurses. He has been the Principal Investigator of over 30 trials resulting in over 400 peer reviewed publications and four books. This work has been or is being implemented in multiple arenas including Medicaid of North Carolina, private payers, The United Kingdom National Health System Direct, Kaiser Health care system, and the Veterans Affairs.

Areas of Expertise: Health Behavior, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Health Measurement, and Health Policy

Dr. Leonor Corsino is a Board- Certified Adult Endocrinologist, an experienced physician-scientist, and an organizational and health professional education leader. She offers an extensive and diverse leadership background with successfully implementing innovative clinical, research, and workforce development and education programs. Her expertise and strengths lie in her diverse portfolio that expands from basic science to clinical and community-engaged research, innovative curriculum development, successful clinical program implementation, and collaborations.

Dr. Corsino's research focuses on diabetes, obesity, and related complications and health disparities, with a particular interest in Hispanic/Latino populations. She has successfully led and extensively collaborated with investigators locally, nationally, and internationally. Her research and contribution have been recognized locally and nationally with many awards, including the NIH/NIDDK Network of Minority Health Research Investigators medallion.

Dr. Corsino has extensive leadership experience, including her current roles as a member of the Executive Committee Member and Associate Director of the Duke School of Medicine Masters of Biomedical Sciences (MBS), Co-Director for the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute - Community Engagement Core / Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERI) and Associate Dean for Students Affairs/Advisory Dean Duke School of Medicine MD program.

She is the former Co-Director, Education and Training Sub-core of the Duke Center for REsearch to AdvanCe Healthcare Equity, Director of the Duke Population Health Improvement Initiative Program, Associate Chair for the Department of Medicine Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, and Associate Director for the Duke School of Medicine Office of Faculty Mentoring Training.

Dr. Corsino's leadership led to the successful development and implementation of unique and innovative programs, including the Duke MBS program selective curriculum, the REACH Equity Summer Undergraduate Research Program, the CTSI/CERI Population Health Improvement Award, E-library, consultation services, and the interactive platform for the Duke Population Health Improvement Program.

Her visionary and innovative initiatives have enhanced patient care, population health, and the recruitment, training, development, and support of health professions students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty, having a significant, palpable, impact on the diversity of health profession workforce and health disparities research.

Clinical

Areas of research interests include Bayesian hierarchical models for longitudinal data, Bayesian optimal designs, finite mixtures and Mixtures of Dirichlet Processes, Markov transition models, nonparametrics smoothing and density estimation, survival analysis for recurrent-event data, biomarker selection and detecting early ovarian cancer.

I am Director of the Duke Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program, an active NIH funded clinical research program focused on developing new and more effective ways of assessing and treating patients having acute and persistent pain.  I have been active in nationally and internationally in shaping the pain research agenda.  For the past 10 years I served as Editor in Chief of PAIN the premier journal in pain research.  I also have served as the Chair of a number of NIH Study Sections.   Finally, I was a member of the Institute of Medicine committee that published a report in 2011 (Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research) that has played a key role in shaping national policies in pain research and pain care.

Over my career, I have played a key role in the development of clinical pain services and pain research programs at Duke Medical Center.  For over 20 years, I directed the Duke Pain Management Program and was a leader in the development of Duke Medical Center's multidisciplinary pain programs (both out-patient and in-patient.)  I collaborate actively with investigators in other countries (e.g. United Kingdom, South Africa, China, and Australia). 

Over the course of my career, I have collaborated closely with investigators both in and outside my lab.  Together we have developed and refined a number of treatment protocols for persistent pain conditions (e.g. pain in patients with advanced cancer; sickle cell disease, and persistent joint pain due to osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis) including partner and caregiver-assisted pain coping skills training interventions.  We have conducted a number of NIH- and foundation- funded randomized clinical trials testing the efficacy of these and other behavioral interventions (e.g. aerobic exercise protocols, yoga based interventions, mindfulness-based interventions, forgiveness-based interventions, loving kindness meditation, and emotional disclosure). 

I have published over 490 papers on topics ranging from pain coping strategies used during mammography to behavioral approaches to managing acute pain and pain at end of life.  I have a longstanding interest in mentoring students and early career professionals interested in developing, testing, and disseminating novel protocols for managing pain, stress, and medical symptoms.

Breast cancer; treatment of breast cancer; management of menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors; survivorship issues after breast cancer; supportive care in managment of cancer patients; breast cancer and treatment of cancer in older persons; diagnosis and management of cancer in underserved populations.