Casey L. Daniel, Ph.D., M.P.H., was chosen for the award for demonstrating excellence in public health as an alumna of the UAB School of Public Health. She is an assistant professor of family medicine at the USA College of Medicine and works in the cancer control and prevention program at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.
“Dr. Daniel is an excellent collaborator and excels in community engagement,” said Paul Erwin, M.D., dean of the UAB School of Public Health. “She exemplifies all the attributes of our graduates by ‘Being Somebody’ and ‘Making a Difference.’”
In her role at MCI, Daniel conducts epidemiological and intervention research and mentors undergraduates, graduate students and medical students. Her research focuses on the prevention of human papillomavirus-associated cancers, particularly improving adolescent HPV vaccination in rural and underserved populations. She has led initiatives that engage partners in pharmacy, dentistry, oncology, education and policy.
Daniel is the elected chair of the Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition and appointed lead of the Data Work Group for the Alabama Adolescent Vaccination Task Force. She was selected as a 2019-2020 American Cancer Society ResearcHERs ambassador and serves on the ACS Alabama South Region Board of Directors. Daniel was recently named chairman of the board of directors for the organization VAX2STOP, a nonprofit working to reduce cancer risk in the Alabama through preventive care and education.
She is currently leading a project at USA Health compiling data that could provide insights into COVID-19 symptoms, the spread of the infection and its impact on Mobile-area residents, as well as serving on numerous COVID-19 tasks forces at USA and in the community.
Daniel’s research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, the Health Resources & Services Administration, the Alabama Department of Public Health and other organizations. She has authored numerous scientific articles and is a frequent presenter at national and international meetings.
