Justin Xavier Moore, PhD, MPH

Dr. Justin X. Moore serves as an Associate Professor within the Center for Health, Engagement, and Transformation (CHET) at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, with additional roles as Assistant Director of Population Science in the Department of Internal Medicine and Assistant Director of Community Impact at the Markey Cancer Center. Trained as an epidemiologist, Dr. Moore has extensive expertise in epidemiologic methodology, biostatistics, database design, geographic information systems (GIS), mediation analysis, Bayesian methods, and cancer prevention and control.

His research focuses on how social and environmental factors, cumulative stress, and biological mechanisms interact to influence cancer outcomes, particularly among medically and socially underserved populations. Dr. Moore’s work has identified geographic “hot spots” of excess mortality from breast cancer, lung cancer, early-onset colorectal cancer, sepsis, and COVID-19, underscoring the importance of context in understanding disparities in health outcomes. Current projects extend this line of inquiry to examine how barriers to screening, life-course stressors, mammographic density, and epigenetic markers shape cancer risk and survivorship.

Dr. Moore has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, with over 50 as lead or senior author, in top journals including JAMA, Cancer Epidemiology, Critical Care, and The Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. His research portfolio has been supported by multiple NIH-funded projects, including the recently completed K01 Career Development Award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and an ongoing R21 from the National Cancer Institute on social determinants of early-onset colorectal cancer.

Nationally recognized for his contributions, Dr. Moore received the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research Faculty Award for his work on advancing understanding of differences in cancer outcomes. His long-term goal is to reduce the burden of preventable disease by generating evidence that informs interventions and partnerships designed to improve cancer prevention, screening, and care delivery for underserved communities.