Julie Farmer and Colleagues Provide Insights at National Cancer Center Community Impact Forum

Julie Farmer, DrPH, MHA, Associate Chair for Administration in the Department of Urology, recently attended and presented at the annual Cancer Center Community Impact Forum (CCCIF), hosted this year in Raleigh by North Carolina’s NCI-Designated Cancer Centers—UNC Lineberger, Duke Cancer Institute, and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.

Kicking off this year’s meeting was Barbara Alvarez, DrPH, MHA, Assistant Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, and Population Sciences with the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

CCCIF is a national meeting that brings together leaders in community outreach and engagement to share strategies for reducing cancer disparities, strengthening partnerships, and advancing cancer prevention and care across the United States.

As part of the program, Dr. Farmer presented her accepted abstract during the poster session: “Adaptations of Intervention to Increase Prostate Cancer Risk Awareness Among Black Men in North Carolina.”

Her work, completed under the guidance of Dr. Erin Kent at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, examined how proven awareness interventions from outside the state can be adapted in North Carolina communities through culturally relevant partnerships.

The project underscored the importance of tailoring educational approaches to meet the needs of local communities—such as leveraging trusted venues like churches, veterans’ groups, and community sports leagues—and highlighted the need for sustainable funding to extend the impact of these initiatives.

Dr. Farmer’s leadership at UNC Urology spans strategic and operational areas, including finance, research administration, human resources, and clinical operations. In addition to her administrative leadership, she continues to contribute to public health scholarship, with a focus on implementation science and population health improvement. She completed her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at the Gillings School of Global Public Health in 2024, where her dissertation centered on prostate cancer risk awareness and community-engaged approaches.

Her presentation at CCCIF reflects UNC Urology’s broader commitment to improving urologic health in North Carolina through research, education, and meaningful community engagement.