“How Public Health Can Support High-Quality Cancer Care Close to Home”

Presented by: Dr. Mary Charlton, professor of epidemiology, and director and principal investigator of the Iowa Cancer Registry

When: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, from 12:30-1:20 p.m.

Where: Callaghan Auditorium (N110 CPHB) and Zoom for those outside of Iowa City (link will be available upon request closer to the date of the event)

Reception to follow in the CPHB atrium.

Dr. Charlton will discuss how public health researchers and organizations such as the Iowa Cancer Registry can support large-scale interventions and initiatives that improve cancer control and care delivery for rural populations.

About Dr. Charlton

Dr. Charlton received an MS and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Iowa in 2002 and 2008, respectively. She then served in several roles at the University of Nebraska and Iowa City VA Health Care System before joining the University of Iowa faculty in 2010.

As an epidemiologist and health services researcher, Dr. Charlton has conducted numerous studies of risk factors, screening behaviors, quality of care measures, practice pattern variation and outcomes related to cancer, with an emphasis on rural populations. She has directed the Iowa Cancer Registry since 2019, which is part of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. The Iowa Administrative Code has designated the Iowa Cancer Registry to collect cancer data for Iowans and to use those data to track cancer trends and support efforts to reduce cancer diagnoses and deaths.

Dr. Charlton is also the principal investigator of a National Cancer Institute-funded grant titled “Effectiveness and implementation of a health system intervention to improve quality of cancer care for rural, underserved patients,” in which she and her team have developed the Iowa Cancer Affiliate Network (I-CAN). She also serves as the co-leader of the Cancer Epidemiology and Population Science Program at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, president of the Iowa Cancer Consortium, and co-investigator with the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network. Her research has led to policy changes at the national level, as well as several state-based initiatives designed to address the high burden of cancer in Iowa.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the College of Public Health in advance at 319-384-1500.