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JACCRI

The Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute (JACCRI), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving access to quality cancer care for all Jamaicans by: (1) conducting cutting edge research to understand the etiology of cancer in Jamaica and optimal intervention strategies; (2) identifying and replicating successful cancer prevention strategies for Jamaica; (3) providing training opportunities for Jamaican oncologists, palliative care providers, and allied health professionals at all levels; and (4) improving the quality of cancer care for all Jamaican cancer patients throughout the continuum of care. JACCRI has an explicit commitment to meeting the needs of Jamaica's most resource poor-patients. JACCRI was borne out of a foundational collaboration between faculty of the Hope Institute Hospital, Surgipath and Cytology Laboratory, Inc., The University of the West Indies (Mona), and the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities, and welcomes the engagement of researchers, providers, and policymakers from all sectors and relevant disciplines committed to reducing the burden of cancer in Jamaica. We also welcome collaboration with our colleagues throughout the Caribbean as we seek to improve cancer outcomes for all persons throughout the region.

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Investigators 

Alexandra Shields, PhD (co-founder)
Dingle Spence, BSc, MBBS, Dip. Pall. Med., FRCR (co-founder)
Jennifer Alexander, MD
Sheray Chin, MD
Bonnie Joy Croteau, RN, MBA
Bethany-Rose Daubman, MD
Dorothy A. Grant, PhD
Franklin W. Huang, MD, PhD
Eric Krakauer, MD, PhD
Chris Lathan, MD, MS, MPH
Mark Stoltenberg, MD, MA
Erica Warner, ScD, MPH

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Several members of JACCRI recently contributed to articles in a landmark special series in Lancet Oncology on the topic of Cancer Control in Small Island Nations. Cancer is now the second leading cause of death in the Caribbean, and Caribbean small island nations face disproportionate burdens of many types of cancer. Despite these disparities, however, there is little information on cancer incidence, mortality, and treatment strategies that is collected systematically across the Caribbean in order to guide future efforts at cancer control in the region. JACCRI co-founder, Dr. Dingle Spence, took the lead in writing three of these articles in the Lancet special issue through eliciting on-the-ground information from cancer providers throughout the Caribbean in order to present, for the first time, more systematic information on cancer rates and treatment and resource availability across the Caribbean, and to also identify best practices in cancer control and challenges specific to the region that need to be acknowledged and addressed moving forward. Full journal issue here.

A selection of publications co-authored by JACCRI personnel:

Articles that highlight some of JACCRI's work:

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