Natasha Buchanan Lunsford, PhD

Natasha Buchanan Lunsford, PhD is a behavioral scientist in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control’s Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch. Dr. Buchanan Lunsford serves as the technical lead and/or principal investigator for several domestic and international CDC-funded projects focusing on breast cancer in young women, cervical cancer prevention and control, cancer survivorship, and cancers among children, adolescents, and young adults.

Dr. Buchanan Lunsford serves as co-lead of DCPC’s Cancer Survivorship workgroup and was the technical lead on a recent journal supplement highlighting CDC’s public health focused cancer survivorship research, surveillance, and programs. She also serves as co-lead of CDC/DCPC Mental Health Workgroup and member at large of inter-and-intra agency workgroups working to improve mental and behavioral health outcomes.

Dr. Buchanan Lunsford provides technical assistance to CDC country offices and Ministries of Health in East Africa and Latin America on community sensitization and education regarding cervical cancer prevention and control. She serves as the principal investigator of the Kenya Medical Research Institute/CDC Cervical Cancer Qualitative Assessment Study, which examines knowledge, awareness, and beliefs of women, men, and other stakeholders about human papillomavirus (HPV), the HPV vaccine, and cervical cancer screening, treatment, and palliative care in Kenya.

Dr. Buchanan Lunsford’s research interests include investigating the social, cultural, behavioral, and psychological factors that impact cancer prevention and control, health disparities, cancer survivorship, and patient outcomes.

Dr. Buchanan Lunsford completed her undergraduate education at Spelman College with bachelor of arts degrees in psychology and Spanish, and earned her master of arts and doctorate of philosophy degrees from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Buchanan Lunsford also completed predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships in health psychology at Emory University School of Medicine and at the Yale University Child Study Center/ Yale University School of Medicine, where she was also an Edward Zigler Child Development and Social Policy fellow. Dr. Buchanan Lunsford has been honored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Southeastern Psychological Association for her research and published work in oncology and health psychology.

Some of the most recent articles Dr. Buchanan Lunsford has authored or co-authored include—

• 2017 Young women’s perceptions regarding communication with healthcare providers about breast cancer, risk, and prevention.
• 2017 Environmental and psychosocial barriers to and benefits of cervical cancer screening in Kenya.
• 2016 The association between adverse childhood experiences and risk for cancer in adulthood: A systematic review of the literature.
• 2016 Opportunities during early life for cancer prevention: highlights from a series of virtual meetings with experts.
• 2016 Use of medications for treating anxiety and depression in cancer survivors in the United States.
• 2016 Provider and patient communication regarding hereditary breast cancer risk for young women.
• 2015 The essential role of public health in preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health of cancer survivors.
• 2015 Post-treatment neurocognition and psychosocial care among breast cancer survivors.
• 2014 Psychosocial barriers and facilitators to clinical trial enrollment and adherence for adolescents with cancer.
• 2014 Treatment setting, clinical trial enrollment, and subsequent outcomes among adolescents with cancer: A literature review.
• 2014 Understanding and addressing the lack of clinical trial enrollment among adolescents with cancer.
• 2013 Opportunities for public health communication, intervention, and future research on breast cancer in younger women.
• 2013 Changes among U.S. cancer survivors: Comparing demographic, diagnostic, and health care findings from the 1992 and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys.
• 2013 Receipt of psychosocial care among cancer survivors in the United States.
• 2013 Evaluation of primary/preferred language data collection.
• 2012 Health status of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.
• 2012 Atomic distribution of malignant melanoma on the non-Hispanic black patient, 1998–2007.
• 2012 Surveillance of demographic characteristics and health behaviors among adult cancer survivors—Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2009.
• 2011 Dissemination and translation: a frontier for cancer survivorship research.
• 2011 Cancer rehabilitation and survivorship: Chapter 22: Personalizing information to meet survivors’ needs.
• 2009 Behaviors associated with ultraviolet radiation exposure in a cohort of adult survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.