Rutu Rathod, Ph.D., MBBS, MPH is a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health. She obtained her medical degree from India, completed her MPH in Epidemiology from Texas A&M University, and earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Memphis. She conducted her doctoral research on the role of epigenetics in chronic respiratory conditions.
Dr. Rathod’s research is at the interface of epidemiology, epigenetics, and geospatial methods to study disparities in cancer screening and outcomes. Her research interest is in understanding the role of individual and neighborhood-level factors to better elucidate disparities as a barrier to cancer screening. Her work leverages geospatial methodology to identify these factors and thereby contributing to improving screening rates. Additionally, Dr. Rathod is interested in exploring the role of epigenetics in cancer outcomes to understand the underlying mechanisms that drive disparities.
She is an integral part of a team that studies travel time disparities in low dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening completion, a study funded by CPRIT. This research sheds light on how travel time can act as a barrier to screening, providing valuable insights into improving access to screening. Dr. Rathod is enthusiastically dedicated to cancer screening and outcomes research, driven by her strong desire to uncover its intricacies and contribute to the field’s progress.
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