Assistant Investigator, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center
Email: cts109@cinj.rutgers.edu
Dr. Carola T. Sánchez Díaz is an Assistant Investigator at the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Sánchez-Díaz completed a MS in Epidemiology from the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus and earned her PhD in cancer epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to joining the UPR CCC, Dr. Sánchez-Díaz served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Section of Cancer Epidemiology and Health Outcomes at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. As a newly recruited early career investigator, Dr. Sánchez-Díaz has a strong interest in establishing a research program focused on comprehending how social determinants of health at the individual and neighborhood level elucidate breast cancer risk factors, outcomes, and survivorship in minoritized populations. Her research has included efforts to better characterize neighborhoods (i.e. neighborhood archetypes) for epidemiological studies as well as an examination of modifiable factors that disproportionately impact Hispanic and Black women, such as adiposity and cardiovascular health. Dr. Sánchez-Díaz has also led studies addressing health disparities in patient-reported outcomes, encompassing psychosocial stress, quality of life, and sleep patterns among breast cancer survivors. During her postdoctoral fellowship she was awarded with a Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, from the National Cancer Institute of the NIH (R01 CA243188) focused on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ovarian cancer risk factors and outcomes. She is currently leading a study funded by the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR) through a Postdoctoral Award (COCR23PDF006), looking at neighborhoods, lifestyle factors, and quality of life among Hispanic and Black breast cancer survivors in New Jersey, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in these associations.
(Updated Nov 2, 2023)