As director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Robert A. Winn, MD, is leading the nation in establishing a 21st-century model of equity for cancer science and care, in which the community is informing and partnering with Massey on its research to best address the cancer burden and disparities of those the cancer center serves, with a local focus but global impact.

As a pulmonologist, Dr. Winn is committed to community-engaged research centered on eliminating health disparities. He is a principal investigator on several community-based projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NCI, including the All of Us Research Program, an NIH precision medicine initiative. Dr. Winn has nearly 20 years’ commitment to Veterans Affairs health services and held appointments at the Denver VA and Jesse Brown VA in Chicago, where he established the first multidisciplinary pulmonary nodule clinic. His current basic science research, which has been supported by multiple NIH and Veterans Affairs Merit awards, focuses on the molecular mechanisms and novel therapeutic approaches for human models of lung cancer.