Timothy R. Rebbeck – Candidate for Board of Directors of AACR

The voting for the 2025 AACR Annual Election is now open, where members will vote for the next President-Elect, Treasurer, five Board Members, and four members of the Nominating Committee.

This year, Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD, FAACR is a candidate for the Board of Directors of AACR.

Timothy R. Rebbeck is a Professor in the Division of Population Sciences and Director of the Center for Global Health Equity at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.

He is also the Director of the Zhu Family Center for Global Cancer Prevention and the Vincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Additionally, he holds an associate membership at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Previously, Dr. Rebbeck served in several key roles at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, including Director of Cancer Equity and Engagement (2018-2023), Associate Director of Cancer Equity and Engagement (2017-2023), and Deputy Associate Director of Population Science (2015-2017).

He was also the Co – Director of the Collective Impact Program at Harvard Catalyst, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2016-2018).

Prior to joining Dana-Farber, Dr. Rebbeck had a long tenure at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he was a Professor and Adjunct Professor in Epidemiology (1995-2017), Director of the Center for Genetics and Complex Traits (2006-2015), and held various leadership roles at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, including Director of the Recruitment, Outcomes, and Assessment Resource and Associate Director of Population Science.

He also led the Cancer Prevention Program and Cancer Epidemiology and Risk Reduction Program at the center.

Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck’s research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of cancer, with a particular emphasis on understanding the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to cancer etiology, outcomes, and health disparities.

His work investigates the causes of breast, prostate, skin, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, exploring how genetic mutations, such as those in BRCA1/BRCA2, influence cancer risk and prognosis.

He also examines cancer outcomes in diverse populations, particularly focusing on the risks faced by BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers and the impact of prostate cancer on men of African descent in North America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck has made significant contributions to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) through various leadership roles and honors.

He is currently the conference cochair for the 2025 AACR Special Conference on The Rise in Early Onset Cancers—Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities and a scientific editor for Cancer Discovery from 2023-2026.

Dr. Rebbeck was recognized with the AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention in 2024 and was elected as a Fellow of the AACR Academy in the same year.

His extensive service to the AACR includes cochairing several Special Conferences, including those on Precision Prevention, Early Detection, and Interception of Cancer (2022) and Environmental Carcinogenesis—Potential Pathway to Cancer Prevention (2019).

He has served on multiple important committees, such as the AACR Cancer Prevention Working Group Steering Committee (2021-2024), the Publications Committee (2020-2023), and the Scientific Achievement Awards Ad Hoc Nominating Committee (2019-2020).

Dr. Rebbeck has also held leadership roles within the AACR Annual Meeting Program and Education Committees, as well as in the Women in Cancer Research and Minorities in Cancer Research initiatives.

His longstanding contributions to cancer epidemiology and prevention were further highlighted during his tenure as editor-in-chief of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (2008-2018).

Through his work at the AACR, Dr. Rebbeck continues to advance the understanding of cancer health disparities, prevention, and early detection.

Education

Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck holds a BA in Biology from Northwestern University (1984) and an ScM in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University (1986).

He earned both a PhD in Human Genetics and an AM in Statistics from the University of Michigan in 1991.

Following his academic training, Dr. Rebbeck completed postdoctoral research as an associate at the Institute for Cancer Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1991 to 1993.

Awards and Honors

• Member, Cancer Awareness Trust (North America) Board (2024-present).
• Member, Executive Committee, PROFOUND-VET (2023-present).
• Member, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Executive Council, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2021-present).
• Recipient, ASCO-American Cancer Society Award and Lecture (2020).
• Member, Boston Public Health Commission Cancer Advisory Group (2018-present).
• Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Center for Proteomics and Genomics Research (2018-present).
• Recipient, Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr. Distinguished Achievement Award, American Society for Preventive Oncology (2017).
• Member, External Advisory Board, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (2014-present).
• Member, External Advisory Board, Cancer Prevention and Control Program at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (2012-2015).

Interviews with Timothy R. Rebbeck

Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention – American Association for Cancer Research (17th December, 2018)

Prevent Cancer Foundation Dialogue 2023: Dr. Timothy Rebbeck – Prevent Cancer Foundation (14th July, 2023)

To vote for your chosen candidate, click here.