Maria E. Suarez-Almazor, M.D., Ph.D.

Maria E. Suarez-Almazor,MD, PhD, is the Barnts Family Distinguished Professor in the Department of Health Services Research, in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is a physician and clinical epidemiologist with an interest in late and lasting effects of cancer and its therapy, and the consequences of comorbidities in cancer patients. She has mentored trainees and junior facuIty throughout her career and has received numerous academic distinctions for this activity. Dr. Suarez-Almazor has been aprimary mentor for many early investigators, supported by K grants, several of whom now hold academic leadership positions.She has a long-standing interest in comparative effectiveness, and over the years has conducted research on synthesizing evidence in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, observational studies, and clinical trials of behavioral and educational interventions, frequently lecturing on these topics. She is a co-editor for the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Collaboration Review Group, and the Director for the Cochrane US Network Affiliate at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which has an emphasis in training. Dr. Suarez-Almazor hasreceived funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as many foundations, to support her research and training programs. For the past 5 years, she was the Principal Investigator on a R25 grant funded by AHRQ which was developed to expand training in comparative effectiveness and patient-centered research methods in cancer research, in partnership with the University of Texas School of Public Health, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).  As part of this grant she led the development of an online course on comparative effectiveness and patient-centered research methods that has been viewed by thousands of individuals around the world.