Roshan Bastani, PhD - Panelist

Dr. Bastani, a social/health psychologist, has been conducting health disparities intervention research for over three decades, with a focus on implementing rigorous yet pragmatic intervention trials to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities. She has led a large number of studies among low income, ethnic minority, and immigrant populations in both clinical and community settings. Her research is conceptually grounded and includes strong and equitable community partnerships. Dr. Bastani’s methodological expertise includes survey research; quantitative methods; research design; comparative effectiveness trials; implementation research and program evaluation. She has had continuous research funding from the NIH since 1988. For over 15 years, she led an NIH post-doctoral program on transdisciplinary cancer training and cancer disparities research.

Dr. Bastani’s research includes studies on breast, cervix, colorectal and prostate cancer screening and diagnostic follow-up; hepatitis B screening; tobacco control; melanoma prevention; obesity control; liver disease; and HPV vaccine uptake. This work includes examination of the drivers of disparities, implementation of pragmatic intervention trials to mitigate observed disparities, methodological studies, as well as studies to advance theory in the field. Examples of her current research include two system-focused implementation trials to increase HPV vaccine uptake among low income, ethnic minority adolescents in safety-net clinical settings (NCI R01; PCORI pragmatic trial); a cluster-randomized obesity prevention intervention trial set in preschools located in underserved neighborhoods (NICHD R01); an implementation trial of a multilevel, system intervention to improve CRC screening in a large FQHC (TRDRP); and an observational study to identify gaps in clinical care processes contributing to low rates of diagnostic follow-up of abnormal findings on Fecal Immunochemical Testing (R03).