Beth A. Jones

Beth Jones is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine. As one of few investigators in Connecticut who works exclusively in the area of racial/ethnic disparities in cancer, Dr. Jones has now conducted a number of studies that have systematically evaluated factors that contribute to the relatively poor cancer outcomes in African Americans. Using a multidisciplinary approach, she is evaluating the role(s) of tumor characteristics and selected genetic factors (e.g., p53, GST polymorphisms), as well as social class, medical care, and psychosocial factors in explaining the lower survival from cancer in African Americans compared with Whites.Although most of the work to date has focused on breast cancer, this work has been extended to other cancer sites as well (e.g., prostate, colorectal). Additionally, she is researching the process of screening mammography and the racial/ethnic-specific factors that influence adherence to screening guidelines and follow-up for abnormal screening tests. Another area of her cancer prevention research includes a study of African American / White differences in the prevalence and correlates of high-risk breast density patterns; she is also Co-Investigator on a study of breast density and in situ breast cancer.

In addition to her research program, Dr. Jones organizes a health disparities interest group/journal club in the School of Public Health and has developed a new course, Health Disparities by Race and Socioeconomic Status. As a member of the Chronic Disease Epidemiology faculty since 1998, she has taught an epidemiology course that covers a broad range of chronic diseases and served as the primary mentor for MPH and PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty.

Health Disparities
Cancer Disparities
Cancer in African Americans

Race differences in other cancers- particularly, prostate, endometrial, and colon;
Race, social class and health;
Perceived discrimination and health outcomes.