Meet our new faculty: Lia Scott
- Discipline: Epidemiology
- Research interests: My research aims to measure how social and structural factors impact breast cancer etiologic heterogeneity in Black women from a socio-spatial epidemiologic lens.
- Hometown: Atlanta
- Current City: Oakland
- Hobbies: I love taking dance classes—both relearning old styles I danced as a kid and learning new styles—and exploring the Bay Area with my partner and our dog, Tony.
In July 2024, Berkeley Public Health welcomed assistant professor of Epidemiology Lia Scott, PhD, MPH. Dr. Scott received her MPH and PhD from Georgia State University School of Public Health, where she was a NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award fellow, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship as a Steven M. Teutsch Prevention Effectiveness Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
Berkeley Public Health: Where did you live and work before joining the UC Berkeley School of Public Health?
Lia Scott: I lived in Atlanta and worked at Georgia State University School of Public Health
BPH: What are you currently working on?
LS: I’m currently working on a project funded by the American Association for Cancer Research that examines the role of structural inequity on breast cancer diagnosis by subtype.
Using restricted-access cancer registry data for the entire US, we’ve completed some descriptive epidemiologic studies on Black/white differences in diagnosis by subtype and we’re currently doing some spatial analysis on county level rates by race and subtype and their associations with various measures of structural racism.
We’ll build our multilevel and latent variable models to measure the role of structural racism on individual level outcomes next. We’re also seeking funding to conduct more local-level analysis using state and regional based registries.
BPH: What are your hopes starting your new position at Berkeley Public Health?
LS: I’m really excited to be in a place that values health equity research and scholarship and to work with the amazing faculty and students here at BPH!