The Padamsee Group's flagship project, the Daughter, Sister, Mother Project: Empowering Women and Their Health Care Providers to Fight Familial Cancer, is just one example of how this research team conducts meaningful, in-depth social science research within several different studies.
The goal? To understand how high-risk women make risk-management decisions. As a cancer-prevention focused research group, this team aims to empower women and their health care providers to make the most impactful cancer-prevention choices that protect women’s health.
Through careful, in-depth research and analysis, the team gains unique insights into understanding women’s decision-making processes – and their effects – in order to shed light on modifiable target points and personalize decision-support interventions. Rather than asking women to conform better to perceived norms and guidelines, the Padamsee Group analyzes women’s health factors to help women make choices consistent with their own values and preferences. By providing women with resources, high-quality information and support to act on those choices, the team helps empower women to implement decisions that maximize their own personal preferences.
Every woman’s risk and decision-making process is different, and by understanding each woman’s unique experience, the Padamsee Group can help develop meaningful processes and programs that lead to improvements in women’s physical and emotional health.
Breast and ovarian cancers are complex, and today, they no longer are solely defined by location or even by stage.
Mission
At the OSUCCC – James, the Padamsee Group's mission is to work collaboratively to create and conduct meaningful research that changes the lives of women coping with an increased risk for breast or ovarian cancer. All of the team’s research — including their flagship project called the Daughter, Sister, Mother Project — is doing just that, and this dedicated, highly specialized team is opening new avenues of support for women, from both internationally acclaimed health care providers and personal networks, around the complex risk-management issues they face.
To deliver the most effective cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment, these world-renowned experts identify and understand the complex emotional, social and cultural dynamics of the diverse group of women at higher risk for developing these cancers.
Through careful, in-depth research and analysis, the team gains unique insights into understanding women’s decision-making processes — and their effects — in order to shed light on modifiable target points and personalize decision-support interventions. Rather than asking women to conform better to perceived norms and guidelines, the Padamsee Group analyzes women’s health factors to help women make choices consistent with their own values and preferences. By providing women with resources, high-quality information and support to act on those choices, the team helps empower women to implement decisions that maximize their own personal preferences.
Every woman’s risk and decision-making process is different, and by understanding each woman’s unique experience, the Padamsee Group can help develop meaningful processes and programs that lead to improvements in women’s physical and emotional health.
Contact Us
Tasleem Padamsee
614-688-0986
padamsee.1@osu.edu
Support Our Work
Donate today to support the Daughter, Sister, Mother Project.
Who We Are
The OSUCCC – James Padamsee Group, led by internationally recognized cancer researcher Tasleem J. Padamsee, PhD, comprises several researchers from across numerous medical and research disciplines.
This diverse team of experts includes talented scientists and researchers from multicultural backgrounds – all who strive to reach the highest accomplishment levels -- while also maintaining a humble demeanor, respecting each other and sharing knowledge.
This enables the Padamsee Group to extend in a broad range of research and ideological directions, without fear of failure, to impact and meaningfully change patients’ lives. How? The team seamlessly works together to conduct research compassionately, making every patient feel as if she is the most important person under this care.
The Padamsee Group of undergraduate- and graduate-level researchers, along with doctorate- and medical-level mentors, engage directly with patients to understand each woman’s experiences with cancer risk and prevention. Additionally, the team collaborates with other talented researchers in adjacent areas that are focused on cancer prevention. Doing so opens a range of methodological approaches, novel techniques and advanced insights that lead to better understanding of each woman’s decision-making process, and ultimately, improving women’s health care.
The Padamsee Group's expertise includes:
- Cancer prevention
- Health-related decision-making
- Diversity in clinical populations
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Clinical genetics
- Survey design and administration
- Biostatistics
- Communications
Principal Investigator:
Tasleem J. Padamsee, PhD
Tasleem Padamsee, PhD, is a member of the Cancer Control Program at the OSUCCC – James, where she brings a sociological and public health perspective to cancer prevention research. Her recent work includes a multi-method study of how diverse women at elevated risk for breast cancer make prevention decisions and the subsequent effect on their health. Dr. Padamsee has authored and co-authored numerous articles appearing in well-respected publications, including Breast Cancer Research, Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Health Psychology and Social Politics. Her research has been funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, National Science Foundation, Reed Foundation and Wellcome Trust.
Staff Research Assistants:
Wilson Figueroa
Wilson Figueroa is a research associate and has been part of the research team since August 2019. He received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from UC Irvine, his master's degree in Experimental Psychology from Ohio University and his PhD in Experimental Health Psychology from Ohio University. Wilson’s main interest with the Daughter Sister Mother Project is examining the psychological mechanisms that inform women’s health behavior and health decision-making. Wilson is a California native and new to the Columbus area. In his free time, he enjoys powerlifting, cultural events and exploring the city.
Megan Hils, BA, MPH
Megan Hils is a staff research assistant and has been with the research team since September 2016. She received her bachelor's degree in Human Rights Studies from the University of Dayton (2012) and a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Promotion from The Ohio State University (2018). Megan's main interest with the Daughter Sister Mother Project is exploring the aspects of a woman’s life that inform her behavior and decisions about her health. She enjoys spending time outside and exploring things to do in Columbus; most of her free time in the warmer months is spent playing Australian Rules Football with her local club.
Stefan Kienzle
Stefan Kienzle began his work with the Padamsee Group in Fall 2018. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 2015 from Northern Kentucky University and his master’s degree, also in Anthropology, from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2018. Stefan is deeply interested in how groups of people relate to the institutions they must navigate in order to secure necessities such as income and health care. His work with the Daughter Sister Mother Project examines how women at elevated risk of breast relate to health care providers and how factors such as finance affect their abilities to seek risk-related care. A lapsed college radio personality specializing in fringe music, Stefan’s hobbies include bass guitar, reading, film studies and going on road trips.
Anna Muraveva, PhD
Anna Muraveva is in her fifth year of the PhD program at the Department of Sociology. She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Saratov State University, Russia and her master's degree in the same discipline from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Anna has been with the research team since August 2015. Her main interests with the Daughter Sister Mother project are how socioeconomic context shapes women’s prevention decisions and the extent to which a partner or spouse impacts these decisions. Anna is in her final year of the PhD program and spends most of her time working on her dissertation. Her hobbies are reading, visiting art museums and rock-climbing with her husband.
Paige Swinehart-Hord
Paige Swinehart-Hord is a staff research assistant who began working with the team in May 2019. She received her bachelor’s degree in Public Health with a minor in Sociology from Taylor University in 2019. Paige’s main interests with the Daughter Sister Mother Project include the decision-making process that high-risk women navigate to determine the preventative practices they will partake in and how this is affected by other factors such as race and socioeconomic status. Outside of work, Paige enjoys cooking, exploring Columbus-area parks and spending time at home with her husband and cat.
Graduate Research Assistants:
Christina Bijou
Christina Bijou is a third-year PhD student in the Sociology department at The Ohio State University. She earned her BA in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park. As an undergraduate student, she conducted research on racial and ethnic inequality along with family dynamics. Currently, her research interests center on racial disparities in health outcomes and urban/rural disparities in health. Her thesis examines how immigrant status affects health outcomes generally, with a specific focus on mental health.
Rachel Meadows, MPH
Rachel Meadows is a fourth-year PhD student at Ohio State's College of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology. She received her bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from the University of Kansas (2013) and master's in Health Behavior & Health Promotion from The Ohio State University (2015). Rachel has been with the research team since September 2015. Her main interests with the Daughter Sister Mother project are racial differences in personal beliefs that affect health decisions, such as mistrust of the health care system. She is a busy mom to a one-year-old boy, Theo, and enjoys spending time outside doing activities like gardening and hiking.
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
Allison Rickman
Allison Rickman is a fourth-year, undergraduate Biology student at The Ohio State University and will be graduating in Spring 2020. She has been with the research team since June 2019. Her main interests with the Daughter Mother Sister Project are how personal and family history factors combine to create both low- and high-risk scores when used in multiple breast cancer risk prediction models. Post-graduation, Allison plans to pursue a master’s degree in Genetic Counseling. Allison enjoys reading, knitting and spending time with her family and friends in her spare time.