The University of Illinois Cancer Center will host Faith Fletcher, PhD, MA, an Assistant Professor in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine, a senior advisor to The Hastings Center and a Hastings Center Fellow, at its monthly Cancer Prevention and Control research program meeting to discuss “Advancing Health Equity Through a Broader Bioethics Lens: Considerations for Cancer Researchers.”
The meeting is September 7 at the Cancer Center.
Drawing from diverse disciplines and methodologies from bioethics, public health and behavioral science, Fletcher’s empirical research investigates pressing health concerns and inequities facing traditionally marginalized populations. In her scholarship, she engages issues relating to reproductive health and autonomy, informed decision-making, structural stigma, and trustworthiness in both research and healthcare settings.
Her K01 Award, funded through the National Institutes of Health/ National Human Genomic Research Institute uses a stakeholder engagement approach to develop ethical practices and guidelines for engaging Deep South residents in genomics research. Fletcher was recently named to the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics Class of 2026. Her work will examine the role of bioethicists in advancing maternal health equity among Black women in the U.S.
In collaboration with an antiracism task force, Fletcher is a co-editor of the Hastings Center Special report entitled, “A Critical Moment in Bioethics: Reckoning with Anti-Black Racism Through Intergenerational Dialogue”. In 2017, Fletcher was named one of the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 under 40 Leaders in Health for her commitment to improving access to scientific research and quality health care for medically underserved populations. This prestigious award acknowledges the next generation of leaders primed to reduce health disparities.