Nutrition Sciences professor elected president of national organization

Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., professor in the UAB Department of Nutrition Sciences and associate director for cancer prevention and control at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected president of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) during its Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tenn. The ASPO is a multi-disciplinary society committed to serving as an advocate for cancer and control research.

Demark-Wahnefried has been a member of ASPO for 20 years and served as the president-elect this past year. For the past two decades, her research interests include diet/hormonal and genetic interactions and their association with neoplasia, specifically breast and prostate cancer, dietary intervention to prevent chronic disease factors affecting compliance and recidivism, as well as lifestyle modification among cancer survivors.

Demark-Wahnefried serves on several boards and panels including the American Cancer Society, numerous National Institutes of Health standing and ad-hoc committees and the World Cancer Fund.

The mission of ASPO is to promote the exchange and dissemination of information and ideas relating to cancer prevention and control, identify and stimulate new research areas in cancer prevention and control, and support the implementation and evaluation of national, state and local programs and policies in cancer prevention and control.