Rachel Ceballos, PhD, is one of the newest DFPM faculty, but she has already garnered distinction at the University of Utah. As part of her role at the U, Dr. Ceballos is Senior Director for Community Outreach and Engagement and a member of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). In addition to these distinctions, she was appointed the Huntsman Cancer Institute Endowed Chair in Cancer Research by U of U president Taylor Randall.
Endowed chairs recognize excellence and provide academic distinction and funding for future research. Huntsman Cancer Institute Endowed Chair in Cancer Research is appointed to researchers who have significant impact on cancer detection, treatment, and epidemiology. Dr. Ceballos’s research into the psychological and social impact of cancer, especially in communities that experience unequal health outcomes, and the span of her work, were what led HCI’s CEO Mary C. Beckerle and CAO Bradley Cairns to recommend her appointment to the Chair.
The chairship is a crowning achievement for Dr. Ceballos as a researcher and a distinction for the department and the Division of Public Health which holds her faculty appointment. “I am delighted that the University is able to confer this high honor,” said Taylor Randall in the appointment letter. “I wish you every continued success in the future.”