Sorenson Gets Tenure at SPH

Glorian Sorensen, a nationally recognized leader in developing cancer prevention strategies, has been promoted to professor of health and social behavior at the School of Public Health (SPH).

Sorensen, who joined the SPH faculty as an associate professor in 1992, is also director of the Center for Community-Based Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she conducts research aimed at developing and evaluating educational interventions in communities and occupational settings. Her work is designed to modify behavior, minimize exposure to environmental and industrial carcinogens, and increase early detection of cancer.

A three-time graduate of the University of Minnesota (B.A., 1974; MPH, 1980; and Ph.D., 1983), Sorensen served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School from 1986 to 1991. From 1986 to 1988, she was a research associate at the Institute for the Study of Smoking Behavior and Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.

Among Sorensen's major research and teaching interests are cancer prevention and control, worksite and community intervention, tobacco control, and breast cancer intervention.

"Attempts to change behavior work best when they take place in the social context or environment in which people live and work," Sorensen said. "So, for example, our research team designs interventions that take into account the social complexities that may accompany limited income."

Sorensen, who has written or edited some 70 books, articles, and monographs, has made "outstanding contributions" in the field of cancer prevention, said James Ware, acting dean of the SPH. "She is an innovator whose work lies at the core of public health. The partnerships she has forged Ñ between employers and employees and within communities Ñ are critical in helping people move beyond knowing a behavior is bad for them to actually doing something about it."

At the Center for Community-Based Research, Sorensen works with local businesses and community organizations to study how people can reduce their risk of cancer by changing personal behaviors, limiting environmental exposure to carcinogens, and undergoing regular screenings.

One of Sorensen's community-based research efforts is a program called Breast Cancer Education and Organized Labor that works with labor unions and worksite representatives to encourage early detection of breast cancer. Another project is aimed at integrating health promotion and health protections for cancer prevention in worksites.

David G. Nathan, president of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, called Sorensen's promotion "wonderful" for both Harvard and Dana-Farber. "Her important work has helped improve the lives of people who are at greater risk for cancer and who have the least access to cancer-prevention services.Ó