To address a critical gap in preventive care, researchers at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), alongside partner institutions, have been awarded a $3.7 million, five-year R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The funding will launch “Witness Project® Lung,” an initiative utilizing community outreach through local churches and organizations to tackle low lung cancer screening rates among African Americans.
Bridging the screening gap
- The Disparity: While early detection saves lives, lung cancer screening rates among eligible African Americans sit below 2 percent, starkly contrasting with the roughly 18 percent national average across all groups.
- Trusted Interventions: The initiative relies on personal testimony from “Witness Role Models” paired with guided navigation from “Lay Health Advisors” to encourage screenings in trusted community settings.
- Broad Coalition: The research team is actively partnering with 22 churches and community organizations across northern New Jersey and the New York City area, including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
Collaborative leadership
The multi-institutional initiative is co-led by:
- Dr. Lisa Carter-Bawa (Principal Investigator) – Director of the Cancer Prevention Precision Control Institute (CPPCI) at the CDI, professor at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, and deputy associate director of Community Outreach & Engagement at Georgetown Lombardi.
- Dr. Jamie S. Ostroff (Co-Principal Investigator) – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
- Lina Jandorf, MS (Co-Principal Investigator) – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Running through June 2031, the project exemplifies powerful cross-institutional collaboration designed to drive meaningful advancements in cancer prevention.
About the institutions
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Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH): New Jersey’s largest not-for-profit health network, comprising 18 hospitals, over 500 care locations, and 40,000+ team members dedicated to delivering leading-edge care and scientific breakthroughs.
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Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI): A member of HMH housing over 220 professional researchers and physician-scientists translating scientific innovations into actionable clinical outcomes for cancer, infectious diseases, and other chronic conditions.
