Justin Xavier Moore, Ph.D., has received an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant for his project “Systemic Discrimination, Cumulative Stress and Cancer Disparities Among LGBTQ Populations.” The American Cancer Society’s Research Scholar Grant is one of the most competitive grant programs for independent cancer researchers in the country. Moore’s grant, totaling $803,000 for a four-year period, welcomes him into a legacy of life-changing cancer researchers that stretches back over 80 years.
“Ultimately, this research aims to fill critical gaps in understanding cancer inequities in LGBTQ+ populations and to inform healthcare policies and interventions that can improve cancer prevention adoption and outcomes for these communities,” Moore said.
Moore will lead the project alongside a multidisciplinary team of collaborators with expertise in cancer prevention, LGBTQ+ health, mixed-methods research and community-engaged science. Co-investigators include Keith Watts, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, and Lovoria Williams, Ph.D., SmartState Endowed Chair and professor at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. The team is also partnering with Queer Kentucky, a Louisville-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization, to help guide community engagement, participant recruitment and dissemination of study findings.
The team’s primary goals of the project are to investigate how discrimination impacts cumulative stress, as measured by allostatic load (AL) using physiologic measures and cancer risk among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBTQ+).
Allostatic load is a term developed by social epidemiologists and medical anthropologists to bridge the link between external stressors and stimuli and the embodiment of stress. Thus, people with more persistent negative lived experiences tend to have higher systemic stress as measured by immune, metabolic, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functioning.
Their study aims to quantify the relationship between everyday discrimination and AL among LGBTQ+ individuals and to examine how intersectional discrimination correlates with cancer-related risk factors. Additionally, this study seeks to qualitatively explore the effects of systemic discrimination on cancer prevention and healthcare experiences for LGBTQ+ individuals ages 40 and above.
“This award means the world to me,” Moore said. “Earlier in my research endeavors, we learned that among all people— regardless of sexual orientation, race or any social factor — having higher chronic physiologic stress or allostatic load is associated with up to a 14% increased risk of developing and dying from any cancer type compared to people with low allostatic load” (Moore, 2019).
Moore has always been inspired to conduct research that brings awareness and hopefully change that will mitigate disparities. Underserved populations have been at the forefront of Moore’s research, because regardless of health conditions, these populations tend to exhibit less favorable health outcomes.
Continuing his research journey, Moore and his team next conducted one of the first studies— and the only to date— to examine how the intersection of sexual orientation with allostatic load was associated with cancer mortality risk. They discovered something quite daunting — that LGB people living with high AL had nearly a three-fold (200% increased) risk of any cancer death when compared with cis-gendered straight people with low AL (Moore, 2023).
“I have spent the past few years exploring extramural research opportunities and am very thankful and honored that the American Cancer Society, their scientific reviewers, program officers and leaders found this research is important to be explored and conducted,” Moore said. “It is my hope that with this research we will continue to move forward in ending cancer for all Americans and shed light on ways to improve cancer care and outcomes for our LGBTQ+ communities.”
Supported by RSG-26-1602022-01-HOPS-W25 from the American Cancer Society.