When it comes to curbing cancer altogether, prevention is key, said María Elena Martínez, MPH, PhD, professor in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. “We’re not winning the war on cancer by treating it,” Martínez said. “There’s been less success than we would like on the treatment of cancer. Winning the war on cancer is preventing it – if we can prevent it, we don’t have to worry about treating it.”

Since the early 90s, Martínez has been looking at the risk factors associated with cancer, especially colon cancer. In addition to looking at the markers in a population’s genetic makeup that could increase or decrease the risk, Martínez also studies the factors that are under the control of the individual person, such as diet, smoking and physical activity.

“The goal in this research is to identify factors that people can adopt, so they can decrease their risk in developing cancer in the future,” Martínez said. “We as a society want to sell a magic bullet, but we keep coming back to the common sense things: exercise and diet.” Martínez’s work also involves the study of specific populations and their cancer risk, which could result in prevention strategies targeted to certain groups of people.

Martínez is also the head of a new program at the Arizona Cancer Center that looks at cancer disparities. The program aims to promote research, training and education, and community service and outreach in minority and under-served populations. She also hopes that the findings of her research will be disseminated and reach the people who would benefit most from this information. “As epidemiologists, we’re so used to conducting our research and stopping there,” Martínez said. “We need to disseminate what we’ve learned to the community – and to specific communities.”