Joel L. Weissfeld, MD, MPH

Dr. Joel L. Weissfeld program leader for cancer control and prevention at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), also is associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Weissfeld?s academic and research interests deal with all aspects of cancer screening. He has extensive experience recruiting research subjects into screening trials from clinical and non-clinical resources, including the UPCI Cancer Registry, the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry, the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Weissfeld is principal investigator for Pittsburgh?s Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial ? a large-scale clinical trial to determine whether certain cancer screening tests reduce deaths from prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer. In 2001, Dr. Weissfeld and colleagues at UPCI received a five-year, $12 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant for lung cancer research from the National Cancer Institute. Under the grant, Dr. Weissfeld is studying the efficacy of spiral CT as a screening tool for early lung cancer by recruiting 6,000 smokers and ex-smokers in the Pittsburgh area over a 4-year period.