57Lovell Jones, PhD, is currently a Research Professor at Texas A & M University Corpus Christi and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Promotion & Community Health Sciences at Texas A&M School of Public Health. Upon on his retirement, Dr. Jones became the first African American to be awarded Emeritus Professor status at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as well as at the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston. It also made him the first African American in the University of Texas System to hold dual Emeritus Status at sister institutions. He is the former Director of the joint UT MD Anderson Cancer Center/University of Houston Dorothy I. Height Center for Health Equity & Evaluation Research which grew out of the Congressionally mandated Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH). Dr. Jones has spent almost half a century addressing equity issues, especially focusing on minority health and the health of the underserved. As a scientist, he has also done extensive research into the relationship between hormones, diet and endocrine responsive tumors. Dr. Jones’ research work also involves determining the mechanism by which natural and environmental estrogenic agents may initiate cancers in hormonally responsive tissue.
Dr. Jones has served as the PI on a number of NIH grants, including “The Women’s Health Eating and Living Study,” an NCI grant studying the role of diet onprevention recurrence of second primaries in breast cancer survivors and has presented his work both nationally and internationally. He has also edited one of the few comprehensive textbooks on the subject of Minorities & Cancer, the book baring that title. Dr. Jones has either chaired or co-chaired numerous major events regarding the underserved and cancers, including the American Cancer Society South Central U.S. Regional Hearings on Cancer and the Poor and the1st National African Cancer Education meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. Dr. Jones is co-author of the congressional resolution designating the third full week in April as "National Minority Cancer Awareness Week." For his work, the NIH/National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded him its Director’s Award for Excellence in Health Disparities. Dr. Jones has also received the Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award and was selected as one of the top African American Scientists in America by the National Science Foundation. Most recently, he was again honored by
American Society of Cell & Molecular Biology with the 2020 Edward Ernest Just Award and listed as one of 1000 inspiring Black Scientists. Most recently, Dr. Jones was honored with the 2021 Asian Pacific Partners For Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership's Health Equity Award and recently selected to serve on NIH's ALL OF US Advisory Committee. Dr. Jones' biography is now part of the HistoryMaker Archive in the Library of Congress.
Dr. Jones also served as the PI several major grants directly focused on addressing health inequities, the Centers of Excellence for Community Partnership, Outreach, Research & Training from the National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration grant titled: “ Facilitated Assistance, Research, & Outreach Services." Over his research career, Dr. Jones has been awarded either as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co- PI approximately $40 million in research and/or educational grants. This does not include the grants he has served as Co-Investigator on.
In January 2000, Dr. Jones was named the first director of the congressionally mandated Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH), a multidisciplinary center whose aims were to a) foster research that addresses the causes of health disparities and translates scientific results back to the communities affected by those disparities; b) encourage minority students to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences; and c) increase recruitment and retention of minority and medically underserved populations into clinical trials.
Lastly, Dr. Jones has been thrice honored on the floor of the US Congress for his efforts. A more detail biography can be located on the University of North Carolina at Public Library Resources at https://sakai.unc.edu/access/content/ user/vschoenb/Public%20Library/People/BySurname/J/Lovell%20Jones/. As audio version of his bio can be found at https://www.thehistorymakers.org/ biography/dr-lovell-jones or the University of Texas MD Anderson https:// mdanderson.libguides.com/JonesLA. Dr. Jones received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He is married to Marion C. Jones, and they have two children (Troy & Tamisha) and three grandchildren (Cole, Tate & Cass).
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Recent Stories
Lovell's Food For Thought - Again I Ask The Question, Isn't It Time We Really Do Something To Do Something
Passed Time To Really Do Something
In the 60 plus years I have been involved with equity issues, I have come to see very little true progress in significantly reducing health inequities. I have seen a significant increase in the number of seminars, workshops, programs, centers and/or institutes. Even with number of persons of color in leadership positions has increased. But the reductions in with the number of deaths the answer remains NO. The COVID-19 Pandemic has made this apparently clear, that what we are doing is not working. The question is what are we going to do about it other than hold more meetings and give speeches on how we increase our efforts to address this as a national priority?
Lovell’s Food For Thought: The Failure to Truly Address Health Inequities in America
"If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you always gotten."
I often use a quote by Mom’s Mabely. It states the following: "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you always gotten." The science of the Twentieth and now the 21st Century, as it pertains to addressing the health of all Americans, will continue to not work if we continue to highlight discoveries without focusing on the delivery and involving the community, especially communities of color at every stage of the process. If we continue to use the same criteria as we did in this century we will be reading similar editorials from the AMA in the next decade. The signs have been there for more than three decades now, telling us that what we are doing is not working. The question now is: What are we going to do about it? Are we going to continue along the same path? Or, are we going to try something different, realizing that health along with not solve problem of health disparities? This opinion piece and the recent article in the American Journal of Public Health says we have yet to realize this truth (https://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/109/S1). Having been at this for almost four decades, will I see a similar special edition in by five decade?
Lovell’s Food for Thought – Implicit Bias, Silent Racism and its Impact on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, an area in need of research
The compound impact of Implicit Bias, Silent Racism and Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome on the overall health of this nation. Like never removing the rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel and wondering why new ones are spoiled. Think about implicit bias and/or systemic/institutional racism as those apples at the bottom of the barrel.
Lovell's Food For Thought - Cultural Differences Need To Be Factored Into Scientific Health Discovery
Racial & Cultural Differences Matter
The more things change the more they remain the same. Who you are and the experiences you have determine the solutions you develop to address the problems you face." Give the lack of researchers of color, you should be able to see what the problem is. Although the numbers have increased, the percentage have remained the same. Therefore you have insight to both the problem and the solution to the problem. Unfortunately, we have continued to fail at solving this problem and therefore we continue to fail in making any significant reduction in health inequities.
Lovell’s Food For Thought – The Spirituality of the Unity Principles & Addressing Health Inequities
A Second Appeal to Connect the Dots
If we are going to successfully address health inequities, we are going to need to truly climb out of our silos and connect to one another across a broad array. Although this easier said than done, we need to realize that “No one center or one institution or profession will solve the problems we face.” And any attempt to address this issue as a single problem of just one disease, without taking into account other factors, you have already failed to address the problem at the beginning and the outcome will be like placing a Band Aid on a heart attack, it may make you feel good, but what about the impact on society?
Lovell's Food For Thought - The Lost of Elders & Their Oral History
The need to create an oral history of leaders in the health disparities movement
The lost of our elders and their oral history and its impact on addressing health inequities. With the lost of two dear friends (Frank Talamantes & Gil Friedell); friends and colleagues on the battlefield in addressing health inequities, the question comes to mind, will we remember the knowledge they gained or will it be lost as we remain in our silos and continue to reinvent the wheel. Therefore, such will dooms us to continue to repeat the errors of the past and addressing inequities will remain an elusive target.
Lovell's Food For Thought - Egos and Wanting Credit As Threats To Addressing Health Inequities
This Goes Beyond Race & Racism
To paraphrase what Benjamin Franklin once said: If we do not all hang together, we will all hang separately. The question that remains is: how do we get people and/or organizations out of their silos, especially in terms of health equity? We sure are not effectively addressing health inequities by remaining in our silos, especially scientific and advocacy silos.
LOVELL’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT – Do We Really Want To Successfully Address Health Inequities?
Are we really addressing the health disparities/inequities gap in a serious and meaningful way?
Answer this question, given the number of centers focused on health disparities/inequities and the emphasis by major foundations on this topic, why are we not seeing a major reduction in the health disparities/inequities gap? Are we continuing to do just a modification of what we have always done, hoping that we are doing the right thing, when in reality we continue to get what we have always gotten, health disparities/inequities.
Lovell's Food For Thought - Racism & Health Inequities
Do We Really Want to Address Either? My Perception is NO
Thirty years ago I wrote my first NIH on addressing breast cancer in African American Women. In that grant I included a section on the impact of racism on outcomes. The grant was not score. In fact, I was told that it really was not reviewed. Ten years later I wrote an article for "The Scientist" entitled "Racism Has An Impact On Research And Health Care Policy." Around the same time, serving on the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Integration Panel, I asked this question - how many Black women needed to die before we really did anything to really address inequities. Guess who not involved back to serve? Today, Racism is now a topic as it relates to health. Let me just say, it has been a topic for years. The question I continue to ask is whether anyone(s) in significant leadership position be held accountable. Only then will we truly see progress.
Lovell's Food For Thought - Racism & Health Inequities
Do We Really Want to Address Either? My Perception is NO
Thirty years ago I wrote my first NIH grant on addressing breast cancer in African American Women. In that grant I included a section on the impact of racism on outcomes. The grant was not scored. In fact, I was told that it really was not reviewed. The basic statement was that everyone knew that Black women delayed in seeking care. Ten years later I wrote an article for "The Scientist" entitled "Racism Has An Impact On Research And Health Care Policy." Around the same time, serving on the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Integration Panel, I asked this question - how many Black women needed to die before we really do something about address this issue. Guess which member has never been invited back to serve? Today, Racism is now a topic, as it relates to health. However, let me just say that this is not new. it has been a topic for years. It is just coming up with a new set of people. So, the question I have continued ask is when will it not just be a topic of discussion and someone be held accountable for all these deaths. Only then will we truly see progress and not a topic of an article, a presentation or a panel discussion.