Mona Fouad, MD, MPH is Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Endowed Chair for Cancer Disparity Research, and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Fouad is recognized nationally as a leader in health disparities research and served as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities from 2008-2012. In 2017, Dr. Fouad was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She was selected as the UAB 2018 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for advancing the frontiers of science and outstanding contributions to education, research and public service.Dr. Fouadobtained her MD from Alexandria University School of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt, and her MPH from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. Dr. Fouad’s career at UAB began in 1991 and has focused on the health of minority and underserved populations, including efforts to increase involvement of special and underrepresented populations in research.
Dr. Fouad has contributed to the science of health disparities through major studies to identify variability in cancer care and outcomes based on race, gender, and age. She has developed nationally emulated models in recruitment and retention of minorities in clinical trials and innovative community-based approaches to reducing racial disparities in breast and cervical cancer. She has been the driving force behind interdisciplinary research efforts for understanding problems related to cancer screening and cancer risk factors in the Deep South. Her work in translating science into practice has improved health outcomes in minority and other vulnerable populations. As a direct result of her research projects, racial disparities in breast cancer screening in Alabama Black Belt counties were virtually eliminated, as were disparities in access to cancer care.