Lorna Haughton McNeill, Ph.D., M.P.H. is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. McNeill’s research is on the elimination of cancer-related health disparities in minority populations with a particular emphasis on the role of physical activity as a key preventive behavior. Her work involves the development and evaluation of ecological theoretically-based physical activity interventions, particularly for women, with the goal of understanding potential mechanisms to behavior change. Dr. McNeill has won several awards and honors including being inducted into Delta Omega, the National Honorary Society in Public Health. Among other research activities, Dr. McNeill is leading a departmental study to develop a cohort of 1200 African American church members in Houston to investigate the role of behavioral, social contextual and environmental factors on health and cancer-related disparities among African Americans.