Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., named Massey Harrison Scholar
A three-year, $150,000 fund will support Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., M.S.P.H., as she expands her research on how environmental factors influence health and cancer outcomes among populations served by Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., M.S.P.H., joined the School of Public Health in fall 2025 as an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology. She also serves as the assistant director of the Catchment Area Data Analytics at Massey, where she works to better understand cancer trends and outcomes across the communities Massey serves.
Shortly after arriving at VCU, Tipre was named a Massey Harrison Scholar. The prestigious designation is awarded to promising early-career researchers and provides flexible funding to help them test new ideas and advance their cancer research. Over the next three years, Tipre will receive $50,000 annually to support her work, made possible by the generosity of the Harrison Family Foundation.
Tipre’s research examines how where people live—from air quality and traffic exposure to access to clinics and cancer screening programs—affects lung cancer risk and the likelihood of benefiting from early detection. Neighborhood environments encompass physical conditions such as air and water quality; features of the built environment, including transportation, walkability, and proximity to highways or industrial emission sources; social factors such as socioeconomic status and smoking prevalence; and healthcare-related factors, including access to lung cancer screening centers of excellence and residence in medically underserved communities. These interconnected factors can directly or indirectly interact with individual behaviors and lifestyle choices, increasing cancer risk.
“I’m truly grateful and thrilled to receive this honor,” said Tipre. With this funding and support, she plans to replicate preliminary research from her prior institution and apply it to the populations Massey serves. “This funding is critical for generating the preliminary data needed to pursue extramural funding.”
Building on this prior work, Tipre will study lung cancer screening across Massey’s catchment area using electronic health records, all-payer claims data, cancer registries, and publicly available datasets, along with qualitative input from patients and community members, to pinpoint place-based strategies that can increase lung cancer screening and improve outcomes in underserved communities across Massey’s catchment area.
“This is a remarkable achievement and a testament to Dr. Tipre’s hard work, dedication, and the impact of her research,” said Samar El Khoudary, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Epidemiology. “We are proud to have her as part of our department and excited to see how this opportunity will further advance her career and contributions to the field.”
By supporting early-stage, innovative research, the Massey Harrison Scholar award helps accelerate discoveries that can lead to more effective cancer prevention and care. Tipre’s work has the potential to translate complex environmental data into practical solutions, ensuring that where someone lives does not determine their chance of surviving cancer.
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