Lina H Jandorf, MA

Lina Jandorf is a Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Policy and the Director of the Office of Cancer Community Outreach and Engagement at The Tisch Cancer Institute. Working with community- faith- and health- organizations, Ms. Jandorf is responsible for bringing cancer education and screening programs to medically underserved communities and recruiting minority residents into our research efforts. One early outcome of this work was the funding, by the National Cancer Institute, of a five-year grant to develop the East Harlem Partnership for Cancer Awareness, a coalition of hospitals, community health centers, and community agencies with the common goal of increasing cancer awareness and thereby preventive care in East Harlem. 

In collaboration with Steven Itzkowitz, MD, in Mount Sinai’s Division of Gastroenterology, Ms. Jandorf has developed a patient navigation program to increase adherence to physician-recommended screening colonoscopy.  Based on findings from her National Cancer Institute-funded project showing the importance of patient navigation for patients needing a colonoscopy, Ms. Jandorf developed and directs CHOICE:  Your Colon, Your Choice.  CHOICE helps patients being referred for a screening colonoscopy with the Division of Gastroenterology by assigning a patient navigator and allowing patients to bypass an additional office visit.

Ms. Jandorf also directs a number of clinical initiatives, funded through the Division of Gastroenterology, exploring new, less invasive ways to screen for colorectal cancer. These include stool-based methodologies for both average risk individuals and those at higher risk due to irritable bowel disorders such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Ms. Jandorf is an active member of the steering committee for New York City’s Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition (C5).

Ms. Jandorf's Research and Outreach Programs include:

• Improving CRC Screening for Diverse Hispanics in an Urban Primary Care Setting: The Witness Project® of Harlem
• Esperanza y Vida® (Hope and Life®)- The Latina Witness Project of Harlem
• Reducing Liver Cancer Risk by Screening for Hepatitis B Virus in African-born People in the U.S.
• Community educational programs on cancer prevention and screening

Research
Ms. Jandorf conducts research on reducing disparities in cancer screening, early detection, and mortality. This work has been focused on understanding cultural, interpersonal and organizational barriers to cancer screening as well as important associations between health disparities and mortality and morbidity. Through the use of Peer Lay Health Workers, her research fosters development and implementation of culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to support and encourage cancer screening for medically underserved individuals.