RICHMOND, Va. -- A woman who has made it her life's work to help save the lives of Black women is receiving a big recognition.
Dr. Vanessa Sheppard, Ph.D., of VCU's Massey Cancer Center was named the American Cancer Society's (ACS) Researcher of the Year. Sheppard is a leading expert on health disparities, more specifically, the disparity in health outcomes of Black women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I’m thrilled to receive this honor and grateful for the opportunity to shine a light on the incredibly common and harmful effects of cancer disparities on historically marginalized groups,” Sheppard said.
The ACS awarded Sheppard $1.5 million, marking one of the largest investigator grants given in Virginia.
Sheppard explained the goal of her research in an interview with CBS 6 last year.
"It's not just the physician making the recommendation and the patient saying OK. I'm going to do that without knowing the why," Dr. Sheppard said. "The long term what we hope is patients will have less regret after making their decision."
