Kelly Blake

Associate Director of Cancer Control and Population Science Research Program

Organization:

West Virginia University WVU Cancer Institute

Department:

WVU Cancer Institute Administration

Classification:

Staff

Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Cancer Prevention and Control

Classification:

Faculty

Prior to joining the West Virginia University Cancer Institute as Associate Director of Cancer Control and Population Science and the West Virginia University School of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Cancer Prevention and Control, Dr. Kelly Blake served for 16 years as a Health Scientist and Program Director in the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, where she also served as Director of NCI's Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). She oversaw a $20M portfolio of cancer research grants and conducted independent research examining social determinants of health behavior and attitudes toward public health policy. As a social epidemiologist and survey methodologist, Dr. Blake’s research is rooted in identifying and addressing cancer disparities using a population science lens to document differential disease distribution and identify levers to reduce cancer risk, incidence, and mortality, and improve quality of life in disadvantaged and underserved populations. Her research program examines multiple and multi-level determinants of modifiable risk factors for cancer, including individual health behaviors, access to health care, social determinants of health, and the policy environment. Her primary research focus is tobacco prevention, cessation, and policy.

Dr. Blake was trained as a cancer prevention fellow on an R25T award at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, working in the Viswanath Lab. During that time, she also served as a teaching fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Prior to that, she served as a science writer and editor in the NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences’ Office of the Director. Before that, she was a hospital-based public health educator and site coordinator for the West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships Program and a health communication research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

She earned a doctor of science degree in social epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she also trained as a survey methodologist in the Harvard Opinion Research Program. She earned a master's degree in community health education from West Virginia University and a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from Marshall University.

Research Interests

• Nicotine and tobacco research
• Lung cancer screening
• HPV vaccination
• Survey methodology
• Cancer surveillance
• Cancer epidemiology
• Rural cancer control
• Social determinants of health
• Health communication
• Public health policy