Eugene Lengerich, VMD, MS - Penn State Cancer Institute
Researcher Profile
Eugene Lengerich, VMD, MS
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Division of Health Services and Behavioral Research
Head, Section of Public Health Preparedness
Division of Health Services and Behavioral Research
Head, Section of Public Health Preparedness
Scientific Program:Cancer Control
Research Interests
Dr. Eugene Lengerich joined Penn State in 1998, after training in the CDC’s pre-eminent Epidemic Intelligence Service and Preventive Medicine Residency programs. During this training, he conducted research on the health effects of environmental hazards as well as bacterial and parasitic disease outbreaks. After leaving the CDC, he served as State Chronic Disease Epidemiologist for North Carolina where he was challenged to conducted federally-funded tobacco control research in a state that was a leading tobacco-producing state! His community-based research at Penn State uniquely draws from his training and experience to examine the theory, implementation, and outcomes of behavioral, clinical, and public interventions to reduce risk and respond to outbreaks. A second line of research is examination of geospatial differences in health risks, access and outcomes. His team was the first to use multi-state cancer registry data for Appalachia and he continues to examine spatial disparities in behavioral and social determinants of health. In related research, he has led the development and testing of GIS-based tools and methods to visualize and communicate health information. Having been raised on a mixed-product farm in Ohio and currently operating a small farm that has been in the family for 50+ years, he has passion for research with rural and Appalachian populations. His research has received funding from the NIH, CDC, HRSA, Armstrong Foundation, American Cancer Society, and Pennsylvania Department of Health.
For the Penn State Cancer Institute, he is Associate Director for Health Disparities and Engagement and Director of the Office for Cancer Health Equity (OCHE). The OCHE leverages community engagement through health care provider, volunteer and community-based networks throughout Pennsylvania. These networks - consisting of health educators, community health workers, promotoras, and navigators - magnify the impact of an individually-based, localized approach to research. The goal is to support dissemination and implementation research.
- Neoplasms
- Appalachian Region
- Early Detection of Cancer
- Colorectal Neoplasms
- Incidence
- Health
- Mortality
- Breast Neoplasms
- Population
- Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
- Public Health
- Education
Clinical Trials
Cancer Incidence in the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute
Recent Publications
2024
Burse, NR, Lehman, E, Chinchilli, VM, Cuffee, YL, Wray, LA, Lengerich, EJ & Schmitz, KH 2024, 'Evaluating the relationship between physical activity and quality of life in a racially diverse sample of breast cancer survivors', Supportive Care in Cancer, vol. 32, no. 2, 122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08310-y
Segel, JE, Wong, WG, Kaag, M, Joshi, M, Warrick, J, Lengerich, EJ & Shen, C 2024, 'Relationship Between Availability of Urologists and Primary Care Providers and Stage of Diagnosis for Invasive Urinary Bladder Cancer', Urology Practice, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 339-346. https://doi.org/10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000503
2023
Luquis, RR, Rodriguez-Colon, SM, Ramirez, S & Lengerich, EJ 2023, 'Assessing the Feasibility of a Faith-Based Colorectal Cancer Education and Screening Intervention for Latino Men in Pennsylvania', Hispanic Health Care International. https://doi.org/10.1177/15404153231214714
Ledford, SG, Moss, JL, Alles, S, Wang, M, Kessler, FC, Marks, B, Soliman, AS, Joshi, MD & Lengerich, EJ 2023, 'Behaviors and Advocacy Related to COVID-19 among Cancer Patients: The Health Belief Model and Opportunities for Messaging and Education', Journal of Cancer Education, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 1690-1696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-023-02323-7
Manne, SL, Knott, CL, Berger, A, Champion, VL, Chrischilles, E, Fitzgibbon, ML, Kinney, AY, Lengerich, EJ, Nash, SH, Simon, MA, Trentham-Dietz, A & Paskett, ED 2023, 'Current Approaches to Serving Catchment Areas in Cancer Centers: Insights from the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Population Science Working Group', Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 465-472. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0958
Rivas, G, Rodríguez-Colon, S, Ramírez, SI, Galdamez, C, Valdez, S, Shirley, S, Diaz-Myers, M & Lengerich, EJ 2023, 'Evaluation of the Spanish-Language Cancer Educational Webinar Series “Vamos a educarnos contra el cáncer” with the RE-AIM Framework', Journal of Cancer Education, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 1629-1635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-023-02314-8
Burse, NR, Cuffee, YL, Wray, LA, Chinchilli, VM, Lengerich, EJ & Schmitz, KH 2024, 'Exploring Quality of Life Experiences and Concerns of Black Breast Cancer Survivors: a Narrative Approach', Journal of Cancer Education, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 96-102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-023-02381-x
Geyer, NR & Lengerich, E 2023, 'LionVu: A Data-Driven Geographical Web-GIS Tool for Community Health and Decision-Making in a Catchment Area', Geographies, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 286-302. https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies3020015
Ledford, SG, Kessler, F, Moss, JL, Wang, M & Lengerich, EJ 2023, 'The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Mortality in Pennsylvania: A Retrospective Study with Geospatial Analysis', Cancers, vol. 15, no. 19, 4788. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15194788
Johnson, M, Lewis, T, Martin, K, Schmitt, A, Lengerich, E, Bittner, K & Divyak, C 2023, 'The science of COVID-19: An online course for teachers and their students', The Science Teacher, vol. 90, no. 3.
2022
Ssentongo, P, McCall-Hosenfeld, JS, Calo, WA, Moss, J, Lengerich, EJ, Chinchilli, VM & Ba, DM 2022, 'Association of human papillomavirus vaccination with cervical cancer screening: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Medicine (United States), vol. 101, no. 28, e29329. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000029329
Ghahramani, N, Chinchilli, VM, Kraschnewski, JL, Lengerich, EJ & Sciamanna, CN 2022, 'Improving Caregiver Burden by a Peer-Led Mentoring Program for Caregivers of Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial', Journal of Patient Experience, vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221076314
2021
Shen, C, Klein, RW, Moss, JL, Dodge, DG, Chetlen, AL, Stahl, KA, Zhou, S, Leslie, DL, Ruffin, MT & Lengerich, EJ 2021, 'Association Between Dense Breast Legislation and Cancer Stage at Diagnosis', American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 890-899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.05.020
Rhodes, SD, Ballard, PJ, Moore, KR, Klein, K, Randall, I, Lischke, M, Vissman, AT, Lengerich, EJ, Daniel, SS & Skelton, JA 2021, 'Community-engaged research in translational science: Innovations to improve health in Appalachia', Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, vol. 5, no. 1, e200. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2021.862
Ghahramani, N, Chinchilli, VM, Kraschnewski, JL, Lengerich, E & Sciamanna, CN 2021, 'Effect of Peer Mentoring on Quality of Life among CKD Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial', Kidney Diseases, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 323-334. https://doi.org/10.1159/000514477
Nirmal, A, Kuzmik, A, Sznajder, K, Lengerich, E, Fredrick, NB, Chen, M, Hwang, W, Patil, R & Shaikh, B 2022, '‘If not for this support, I would have left the treatment!': Qualitative study exploring the role of social support on medication adherence among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Western India', Global Public Health, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 1945-1957. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2021.1965182
2020
Loloi, J, Lin, YK, Camacho, F, Lengerich, E & Raman, JD 2020, '25-Year Trends in Stage-Specific Incidence Rates for Bladder Cancer in a Large Statewide Registry', Bladder Cancer, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 445-451. https://doi.org/10.3233/BLC-200310
Mama, SK, Bhuiyan, N, Bopp, MJ, McNeill, LH, Lengerich, EJ & Smyth, JM 2020, 'A faith-based mind-body intervention to improve psychosocial well-being among rural adults', Translational behavioral medicine, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 546-554. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibz136
Rao, P, Segel, JE, McGregor, LM, Lengerich, EJ, Drabick, JJ & Miller, B 2020, 'Attendance at National Cancer Institute and Children's Oncology Group Facilities for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Cancer in Pennsylvania: A Population-Based Study', Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47-54. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2019.0045
Roy, S, Moss, JL, Rodriguez-Colon, SM, Shen, C, Cooper, JD, Lennon, RP, Lengerich, EJ, Adelman, A, Curry, W & Ruffin, MT 2020, 'Examining Older Adults’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Cancer Screening and Overscreening: A Qualitative Study', Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, vol. 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132720959234
Moss, JL, Roy, S, Shen, C, Cooper, JD, Lennon, RP, Lengerich, EJ, Adelman, A, Curry, W & Ruffin, MT 2020, 'Geographic Variation in Overscreening for Colorectal, Cervical, and Breast Cancer among Older Adults', JAMA network open, vol. 3, no. 7, e2011645. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.11645
Dominic, OG, Chinchilli, V, Wasserman, E, Curry, WJ, Kambic, DM, Caicedo, CH, Ramirez, AG, Ochoa, JA & Lengerich, EJ 2020, 'Impact of Social Support on Colorectal Cancer Screening among Adult Hispanics/Latinos: A Randomized Community-based Study in Central Pennsylvania', Cancer Prevention Research, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 531-542. https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-19-0333
Geyer, NR, Kessler, FC & Lengerich, EJ 2020, 'LionVu 2.0 usability assessment for Pennsylvania, United States', ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, vol. 9, no. 11, 619. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9110619
Nirmal, AA, Rodríguez-Colón, SM, Costalas, S & Lengerich, EJ 2020, 'Patient navigation and cancer-related care: Policy solutions to improve access to Pennsylvania's complex system of care', Journal of Cancer Policy, vol. 25, 100231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpo.2020.100231
McDonald, AC, Wasserman, E, Lengerich, EJ, Raman, JD, Geyer, NR, Hohl, RJ & Wang, M 2020, 'Prostate cancer incidence and aggressiveness in appalachia versus non-appalachia populations in Pennsylvania by urban-rural regions, 2004–2014', Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 1365-1373. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-19-1232
Mama, SK, Bhuiyan, N, Foo, W, Segel, JE, Bluethmann, SM, Winkels, RM, Wiskemann, J, Calo, WA, Lengerich, EJ & Schmitz, KH 2020, 'Rural-urban differences in meeting physical activity recommendations and health status in cancer survivors in central Pennsylvania', Supportive Care in Cancer, vol. 28, no. 10, pp. 5013-5022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05342-y
Segel, JE & Lengerich, EJ 2020, 'Rural-urban differences in the association between individual, facility, and clinical characteristics and travel time for cancer treatment', BMC Public Health, vol. 20, no. 1, 196. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8282-z
Wang, M, Wasserman, E, Geyer, N, Carroll, RM, Zhao, S, Zhang, L, Hohl, R, Lengerich, EJ & McDonald, AC 2020, 'Spatial patterns in prostate Cancer-specific mortality in Pennsylvania using Pennsylvania Cancer registry data, 2004-2014', BMC Cancer, vol. 20, no. 1, 394. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-06902-5
Geyer, NR, Moss, JL, Wang, M & Lengerich, EJ 2020, 'Spatial relationship between ambulatory surgery centers and colorectal cancer mortality within Pennsylvania, United States', Public Health, vol. 189, pp. 126-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.09.018