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Gloria D. Coronado, PhD

Meet Gloria Coronado

When Gloria Coronado was growing up, her immigrant family had some misconceptions about cancer. Now she helps to dispel similar misconceptions and increase cancer screening among underserved populations.

In late 2023, Dr. Coronado accepted the position of Associate Director of the Cancer Center at the University of Arizona but continues to work on studies at CHR.

Gloria Coronado, PhD, is an epidemiologist who champions affordable, long-term solutions to health disparity issues. She leads a well-funded research portfolio that inspires health system leaders to make sensible, evidence-informed choices to engage hard-to-reach populations in life-saving preventive behaviors.

Dr. Coronado has developed several innovative, cost-effective interventions to improve rates of participation in cancer screening among patients served by community health centers. Her work has led to successful partnerships with large health plans, state institutions, and community clinics. She currently directs or co-directs three programs that employ systems-based approaches to raise the rates of colorectal cancer screening and follow-up in health plans and clinics in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Dr. Coronado’s research uses existing health system data and population segmentation approaches to proactively deliver outreach to patients who need it the most; her research strives to promote health care efficiency while advancing equity.

Dr. Coronado’s team specializes in applying patient-engagement strategies to develop culturally relevant health education material. Materials developed by her team (English- and Spanish-language patient-facing materials, e.g. fact sheets, videos, training modules) have been disseminated to hundreds of health systems and community organizations across the United States.

Dr. Coronado came to the Center for Health Research from the Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where she led a training program that prepared diverse undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students to conduct cancer research.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Coronado has served as the principal investigator, co-investigator or co-principal investigator on over 35 federally funded grants; she has authored or co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts. She currently serves as a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Improving the Representation of Women and Minorities in Clinical Trials and Research. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Coronado received her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington and then was a research associate professor in the university’s Department of Epidemiology. She also received training at Stanford University.

Selected Current Studies

  • Practice-based Approaches to Promote HPV Vaccination (PREVENT; NCI)
  • Improving Latino Recruitment in Healthy Oregon Project (CEDAR/Knight Cancer Institute)
  • Developing Colorectal Cancer Screening Messages for American Indian Populations (CDC)
  • Developing Faith-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Messages for African Americans (CDC)
  • Developing Colorectal Cancer Screening Messages for African Methodist Episcopal Churches (American Cancer Society)
  • Community Partnership for Telehealth Solutions to Counter Misinformation and Achieve Equity (PRIME; NIMHD/NIMH
  • Screening More Patients for CRC through Adapting and Refining Targeted Evidence-Based Interventions in Rural Settings—SMARTER CRC (NCI/Cancer Moonshot)
  • Predicting and Addressing Colonoscopy Non-Adherence in Community Settings (NCI)
  • Participatory Research to Advance Colorectal Cancer Prevention (NIMHD)
  • Developing Faith-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Messages for African Americans (CDC)
  • Assessing Adherence to an Experimental Blood Test for Colorectal Cancer Detection (Guardant Health)
  • Colonoscopy Versus Stool-Based Testing for Older Adults with a History of Colon Polyps (COOP Trial; PCORI)
  • Assessing the Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Disparities in Cancer Screening and Follow-Up (NCI)
  • NCI Community Oncology Research Program Community Sites (NCORP; NCI)

Selected Publications

  • Coronado GD, Dickerson JF, Burnett-Hartman AN, Carethers JM, Lee J, McBurnie MA. Reduced implementation and completion of average-risk annual FIT colorectal cancer screening in Black patients aged 45-49 years. Consortium for Early Onset Colorectal Cancer. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Jul;21(7):1937-1939. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.05.009. Epub 2022 May 27. PMID: 35644342
  • Coronado GD, Ferrari RM, Barnes A, Castañeda SF, Cromo M, Davis MM, Doescher MP, English K, Hatcher J, Kim KE, Kobrin S, Liebovitz D, Mishra SI, Nodora JN, Norton WE, Oliveri JM, Reuland DS, Subramanian S, Thompson JH, Paskett ED. Characteristics of patient navigation programs in the Cancer Moonshot ACCSIS colorectal cancer screening initiative. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 Jun 8;115(6):680-694. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad032. PMID: 36810931
  • Coronado GD, Kihn-Stang A, Slaughter MT, Petrik AF, Thompson JH, Rivelli JS, Jimenez R, Gibbs J, Yadav N, Mummadi RR. Follow-up colonoscopy after an abnormal stool-based colorectal cancer screening result: analysis of steps in the colonoscopy completion process. BMC Gastroenterol. 2021 Sep 28;21(1):356. doi: 10.1186/s12876-021-01923-1. PMID: 34583638
  • Coronado GD, Nielson CM, Keast EM, Petrik AF, Suls JM. The influence of multi-morbidities on colorectal cancer screening recommendations and completion. Cancer Causes Control. 2021 May;32(5):555-565. doi: 10.1007/s10552-021-01408-2. Epub 2021 Mar 9. PMID 33687606 PMCID: PMC8717879
  • Coronado GD, Nyongesa D, Escaron AL, Petrik AF, Thompson JH, Smith D, Davis MM, Schneider JL, Rivelli JS, Laguna T, Leo MC. Effectiveness and Cost of an Enhanced Mailed Fecal Test Outreach Colorectal Cancer Screening Program: Findings from the PROMPT Stepped-Wedge Trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Nov 1;32(11):1608-1616. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0597. PMID: 37566431
  • Coronado GD, Nyongesa DB, Petrik AF, Thompson JH, Escaron AL, Younger B, Harbison S, Leo MC. Randomized Controlled Trial of Advance Notification Phone Calls vs Text Messages Prior to Mailed Fecal Test Outreach. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Nov;19(11):2353-2360.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2020.07.053. Epub 2020 Jul 30. PMID 32739569 PMCID: PMC9285860
  • Coronado GD, Petrik AF, Slaughter M, Kepka D, Naleway AL. Adolescents Who Have Undergone Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Are More Likely to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine. J Adolesc Health. 2023 Jun;72(6):985-988. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.12.022. Epub 2023 Feb 11. PMID: 36781325 PMCID: PMC9918864
  • Coronado GD, Rawlings AM, Petrik AF, Slaughter M, Johnson ES, Hannon PA, Cole A, Vu T, Mummadi RR. Precision patient navigation to improve rates of follow-up colonoscopy, an individual randomized effectiveness trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021 Dec;30(12):2327-2333. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1793. Epub 2021 Sep 28. PMID 34583969 PMCID: PMC9273475
  • Coronado GD, Ruiz E, Torres-Ozadali, Thompson J, Rivelli J, Thibault A, Escaron AL. Video text messaging is needed to deliver patient education about preventive care in the United States. PLOS Digit Health. 2023 May 30;2(5):e0000258. doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000258. eCollection 2023 May. PMID: 37253020 PMCID: PMC10228759
  • Coronado GD, Schneider JL, Green BB, Coury JK, Schwartz MR, Kulkarni-Sharma Y, Baldwin LM. Health plan adaptations to a mailed outreach program for colorectal cancer screening among Medicaid and Medicare enrollees: the BeneFIT study. Implement Sci. 2020 Sep 15;15(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s13012-020-01037-4. PMID: 32933525 PMCID: PMC7493880
  • Coronado GD. Sustainable infrastructure and risk stratification are needed to appropriately deliver colorectal cancer screening globally. Cancer. 2022 Mar 15;128(6):1165-1167. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34059. Epub 2022 Jan 5. PMID 34985770
  • Coronado GD. Who Is Reached With Clinic In-Reach and Outreach Strategies to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening? Am J Public Health. 2020 Apr;110(4):437-439. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305593. PMID 32159997 PMCID: PMC7067109
  • Gautom P, Thompson JH, Rivelli JS, Coronado GD. Developing Patient-Refined Colorectal Cancer Screening Materials: Application of a Virtual Community Engagement Approach. BMC Gastroenterol. 2023 May 24;23(1):179. doi: 10.1186/s12876-023-02774-8. PMID: 37221503
  • Schneider JL, Rivelli JS, Vaughn KA, Thompson JH, Petrik AF, Escaron AL, Coronado GD. Implementing an Enhanced Mailed FIT Program to Improve CRC Screening at a Federally Qualified Health Center: Experiences of Patients and Staff. Transl Behav Med. 2023 Sep 28;13(10):757-767. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibad025. PMID: 37210075 PMCID: PMC10538470
  • Staman KL, Check DK, Zatzick D, Mor V, Fritz JM, Sluka K, DeBar LL, Jarvik JG, Volandes A, Coronado GD, Chambers DA, Weinfurt KP, George SZ. Intervention delivery for embedded pragmatic clinical trials: Development of a tool to measure complexity. Contemp Clin Trials. 2023 Mar;126:107105. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107105. Epub 2023 Jan 26. PMID: 36708968 PMCID: PMC10126825
 

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