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Dr. Cullen’s predominant research focus has been on the identification

and validation of biomarkers and assay panels to forecast prostate cancer

outcomes, with an emphasis on investigating racial disparities in disease

outcomes and factors that influence quality of life trajectories for cancer

survivors. For over a decade, she directed the scientific efforts for a

longitudinal, racially diverse data repository of male military health

care beneficiaries biopsied for prostate cancer, with detailed clinical

annotation and follow-up information on 29,500+ men, as well as biospecimen collection on a large subset of these subjects.  She has fostered productive extramural collaborations with both academic and industry partners, and has successfully obtained multiple peer-reviewed grants, including federal and industry-sponsored awards.  A highlight of collaborative efforts with industry through a CRADA agreement was her leadership role in the validation study of the OncotypeDx® 17-gene panel assay for predicting prostate cancer progression (European Urology, 2015).

 

In 2020, Dr. Cullen became the Associate Director (AD) of Cancer Population Sciences at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In these roles, she coordinates large team science projects and grants among cancer center members and leadership. She also engages Northeast Ohio community leaders in the ongoing scientific endeavors of the cancer center. Her current research efforts are focused on examination of the independent and joint roles of biological, social, and environmental determinants of cancer disparities for multiple malignancies, including novel statistical approaches to jointly consider the influence of neighborhood- and individual-level factors. She also teaches the Introductory Statistics course to the Master of Public Health students in her Department. 

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In a complementary role, Dr. Cullen has long-standing experience as a patient advocate through her participation in the Alliance for Childhood Cancer’s annual Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC and as a Board Member of the American Childhood Cancer Organization, meeting with Congressional representatives to champion key pieces of legislation for bipartisan sponsorship, such as the “Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research” (STAR) Act (Public Law 115-180).  Most recently, she offered testimony at Ohio’s State Capitol in support of a cancer biomarker testing bill introduced by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.  Additionally, she served as an invited speaker for a workshop jointly sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the Institute of Medicine, entitled “Comprehensive Cancer Care for Children and Their Families”, aimed at improving palliative care for childhood cancer patients and their families.  She is deeply committed to researching the continuum of cancer care, from prevention to survivorship and palliative care, especially among the most vulnerable cancer populations.