Mack Ruffin, MD, MPH - Penn State Cancer Institute
Researcher Profile
Mack Ruffin, MD, MPH
Hershey Company Professor, Dr. and Mrs. Forney P. George Fellow and Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Scientific Program:Cancer Control
Research Interests
Dr. Mack Ruffin’s research has focused on cancer prevention and control with emphasis on cervical, colorectal and pancreatic cancer. His research spans rural community trials, practice transformation, individual patient clinical trials, early detection biomarkers discovery and validation trials and dissemination studies. He is currently focused on stool microbiome as a screening strategy for colorectal cancer; community and practice intervention to promotion HPV vaccine series initiation and completion; HPV self-sampling as a new strategy to get women to engage in checking for cervical cancer; and validation of new blood, urine and stool markers for screening for colorectal cancer.
- Colorectal Neoplasms
- Neoplasms
- Early Detection of Cancer
- Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
- Primary Health Care
- Biomarkers
- Serum
- Breast Neoplasms
- Health
- Population
- Papillomavirus Vaccines
- Physicians
Recent Publications
2022
Moss, JL, Leach, K, Stoltzfus, KC, Granzow, M, Reiter, PL, Onega, T, Klesges, LM & Ruffin, MT 2022, 'Multilevel Associations with Cancer Screening Among Women in Rural, Segregated Communities Within the Northeastern USA: a Mixed-Methods Study', Journal of Cancer Education, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 1982-1992. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02069-0
Calo, WA, Lennon, RP, Ruffin IV, MT, Keller, C, Spanos, K, D'Souza, G & Kraschnewski, JL 2022, 'Support for HPV vaccine school-entry requirements in the United States: The role of exemption policies', Vaccine, vol. 40, no. 51, pp. 7426-7432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.08.019
Shen, C, Kwon, M, Moss, JL, Schaefer, E, Zhou, S, Dodge, D & Ruffin, MT 2022, 'Utilization of Mammography During the Last Year of Life Among Older Breast Cancer Survivors', Journal of Women's Health, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 941-948. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2021.0517
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
Shen, Y, Sen, A, Turgeon, DK, Ren, J, Graifman, G, Ruffin, MT, Smith, WL, Brenner, DE & Djuric, Z 2022, 'Changes in Serum, Red Blood Cell, and Colonic Fatty Acids in a Personalized Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation Trial', Nutrition and cancer, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 565-578. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.1903950
Moss, JL, Popalis, M, Ramirez, SI, Reedy-Cooper, A & Ruffin, MT 2022, 'Disparities in Cancer Screening: The Role of County-Level Metropolitan Status and Racial Residential Segregation', Journal of Community Health, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-01035-7
Hughes, A, Dahmus, J, Rivas, G, Hummer, B, Chen See, JR, Wright, JR, Lamendella, R, Schmitz, KH, Sciamanna, C, Ruffin, M, Patterson, AD, Loomba, R & Stine, JG 2021, 'Exercise Training Reverses Gut Dysbiosis in Patients With Biopsy-Proven Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: A Proof of Concept Study', Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1723-1725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2020.08.063
Van Scoy, LJ, Miller, EL, Snyder, B, Wasserman, E, Chinchilli, VM, Zgierska, AE, Rabago, D, Lennon, CL, Lipnick, D, Toyobo, O, Ruffin, MT & Lennon, RP 2021, 'Knowledge, perceptions, and preferred information sources related to covid-19 among central pennsylvania adults early in the pandemic: A mixed methods cross-sectional survey', Annals of family medicine, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 293-301. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2674
Manzor Mitrzyk, B, Plegue, MA, Kadri, R, Danak, SU, Hubbard, JD, Kaip, EA, Roberson, DN, Ellingrod, VL, Farris, KB, Ruffin, MT, Klinkman, MS & Buis, LR 2021, 'Pharmacogenomic testing for mental health (Part I): Documenting early adopter perceptions of use for eight scenarios', Personalized Medicine, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 223-232. https://doi.org/10.2217/pme-2020-0083
Manzor Mitrzyk, B, Plegue, MA, Kadri, R, Danak, SU, Hubbard, JD, Kaip, EA, Roberson, DN, Roy, S, Guetterman, TC, Ellingrod, VL, Farris, KB, Ruffin Iv, MT, Klinkman, MS & Buis, LR 2021, 'Pharmacogenomic testing for mental health (Part II): Qualitative analysis of early adopter prescriber perceptions', Personalized Medicine, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 233-240. https://doi.org/10.2217/pme-2020-0084
Ruffin, MT, Hade, EM, Fahey, P, Christian, LM, Paskett, ED & Harper, DM 2021, 'Predictors of Human Papillomavirus Seropositivity in Appalachian Women Aged 18 to 26 Years', Sexually transmitted diseases, vol. 48, no. 9, pp. 693-699. https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001416
2020
Topçuoğlu, BD, Lesniak, NA, Ruffin, MT, Wiens, J & Schloss, PD 2020, 'A framework for effective application of machine learning to microbiome-based classification problems', mBio, vol. 11, no. 3, e00434-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00434-20
Paskett, ED, Pennell, ML, Ruffin, MT, Weghorst, CM, Lu, B, Hade, EM, Peng, J, Bernardo, BM & Wewers, ME 2020, 'A multi-level model to understand cervical cancer disparities in appalachia', Cancer Prevention Research, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-19-0239
Sen, A, Zhao, L, Djuric, Z, Turgeon, DK, Ruffin, MT, Smith, WL, Brenner, DE & Normolle, DP 2020, 'An Adaptive Bayesian Design for Personalized Dosing in a Cancer Prevention Trial', American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. e167-e173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.04.023
Emlet, C, Ruffin, M & Lamendella, R 2020, 'Enteric Virome and Carcinogenesis in the Gut', Digestive Diseases and Sciences, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 852-864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06126-4
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
Riley, TD, Curry, WJ, Beck, MJ, Berg, A & Ruffin, MT 2020, 'Feasibility of nonanonymous burnout surveys in a large academic department', Family medicine, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 278-281. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2020.471855
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, pp. e2011645. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.11645
Lennon, RP, Sakya, SM, Miller, EL, Snyder, B, Yaman, T, Zgierska, AE, Ruffin, MT & Van Scoy, LJ 2020, 'Public Intent to Comply with COVID-19 Public Health Recommendations', Health literacy research and practice, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. e161-e165. https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20200708-01
2019
Sze, MA, Topçuoğlu, BD, Lesniak, NA, Ruffin, MT & Schloss, PD 2019, 'Fecal short-chain fatty acids are not predictive of colonic tumor status and cannot be predicted based on bacterial community structure', mBio, vol. 10, no. 4, e01454-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01454-19
Djuric, Z, Bassis, CM, Plegue, MA, Sen, A, Turgeon, DK, Herman, K, Young, VB, Brenner, DE & Ruffin, MT 2019, 'Increases in colonic bacterial diversity after ω-3 fatty acid supplementation predict decreased colonic prostaglandin E2 concentrations in healthy adults', Journal of Nutrition, vol. 149, no. 7, pp. 1170-1179. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy255
Knobloch, TJ, Peng, J, Hade, EM, Cohn, DE, Ruffin, MT, Schiano, MA, Calhoun, BC, McBee, WC, Lesnock, JL, Gallion, HH, Pollock, J, Lu, B, Oghumu, S, Zhang, Z, Sears, MT, Ogbemudia, BE, Perrault, JT, Weghorst, LC, Strawser, E, DeGraffinreid, CR, Paskett, ED & Weghorst, CM 2019, 'Inherited alterations of TGF beta signaling components in Appalachian cervical cancers', Cancer Causes and Control, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 1087-1100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01221-y
Jimbo, M, Sen, A, Plegue, MA, Hawley, S, Kelly-Blake, K, Rapai, M, Zhang, M, Zhang, Y, Xie, X & Ruffin, MT 2019, 'Interactivity in a Decision Aid: Findings From a Decision Aid to Technologically Enhance Shared Decision Making RCT', American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.03.004
Reiter, PL, Shoben, AB, McDonough, D, Ruffin, MT, Steinau, M, Unger, ER, Paskett, ED & Katz, ML 2019, 'Results of a Pilot Study of a Mail-Based Human Papillomavirus Self-Testing Program for Underscreened Women from Appalachian Ohio', Sexually transmitted diseases, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 185-190. https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000944
Mitrzyk, BM, Kadri, R, Farris, KB, Ellingrod, VL, Klinkman, MS, Ruffin, MT, Plegue, MA & Buis, LR 2019, 'Using pharmacogenomic testing in primary care: Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled study', JMIR Research Protocols, vol. 8, no. 8, e13848. https://doi.org/10.2196/13848
Ruffin, MT & Hausman, BL 2019, 'Vaccine refusals and regulations', Family medicine, vol. 51, no. 9, pp. 786. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2019.959213