Dr. Charnita Zeigler-Johnson is an Associate Professor of Cancer Prevention and Control and Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement.  She is an epidemiologist and cancer disparities researcher.  She received a B.S. in Psychobiology from Albright College (Reading, PA) and MPH and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA).  She completed post-doctoral training in Molecular Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA.)

Her research focuses on defining cancer risk factors and drivers of cancer disparities in the U.S. and international settings. To address this, her team focuses research on identifying possible modes for cancer prevention in high-risk populations and providing new understanding about how contextual factors influence shape disease outcomes. Her specific interests include prostate cancer, lung cancer screening, obesity, genetic pathways, inflammation markers, clinical characteristics, neighborhood factors, and gene-environment interactions. Currently, she is Principal Investigator of the Pennsylvania Residence Over Time and Outcomes in Treatment and Survival (PA-ROOTS) study, a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary, mixed-methods study of the relationship between neighborhood-level structural racism and prostate cancer disparities. 

Her research interests include:

• Building multilevel models to study interactions among cancer risk factors and to better define high risk groups
• Structural racism and social epidemiology of cancer disparities
• Community-engaged research and interventions

Dr. Zeigler-Johnson serves as an adjunct instructor at the College of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA.) She is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Society of Preventive Oncology, American Cancer Society Guideline Development Group, the Pennsylvania Cancer Coalition, and the New Jersey Cancer Coalition. She also serves as a member of the leadership team for the African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium (AC3), for which she received the 2023 Team Science Award from AACR. In addition, Dr. Zeigler-Johnson is a member of Delta Omega National Honor Society for Public Health.