HaeOk Lee, RN, PhD, FAAN

University Of Massachusetts - Boston

Academic Titles

Associate Professor, Nursing, University Of Massachusetts - Boston

Research Program Affiliation

Associate Member, Cancer Risk and Disparities

Research Abstract

Dr. Lee is an experienced nurse behavioral scientist with extensive clinical and research experience with immigrant populations. Her hands-on experiences in working with immigrants, especially Asian Americans, has provided her with the skills and expertise to address the unique, unusual, and unnecessary infection-related cancer health disparities confronting minority and immigrant populations. Dr. Lee’s studies have focused locally, nationally, and globally to reduce cervical and liver cancer burdens among underserved and understudied populations. She, in collaboration with colleagues from the world of academics, clinical health settings, and the community, has conducted randomized clinical trials and observational, qualitative, and community based participatory studies to improve the scientific knowledge of the root causes of health disparities and to develop culturally sensitive cancer prevention intervention to eliminate them.

Dr. Lee has been the PI on NIH-funded grants focused primarily on cancer prevention research among Asian Americans. Her research has played a critical role in the national and international recognition of health disparities, especially related to cervical and liver cancer among Asians and Africans. Dr. Lee has developed a population-specific instrument to inform liver and cervical cancer prevention educations and interventions to modify the root causes of bio-socio-cultural factors associated with infection-related cancers and a theoretical framework reflecting the culture and health behaviors of the targeted population. Dr. Lee is particularly interested in cultural-linguistic responsive and theory-based narrative health communication interventions tailored to Asian American and immigrant populations. Her research, which is noteworthy for its theoretical base, holds considerable promise for the development of practice guidelines and interventions for improving both health communication and health behaviors to reduce health disparities.