Faculty & Staff

Grace X. Ma, PhD, CHES
Professor
Director of the Center for Asian Health

Dr. Ma has served on numerous scientific advisory boards in cancer, Hepatitis B, tobacco control, diabetes and other chronic disease issues. She has also served on national, state and community health advisory boards. She is an active member of numerous public health professional associations, journal editorial boards, national and statewide tobacco and cancer control plans. Dr. Ma has authored or co-authored 5 books and over 80 peer reviewed publications and delivered over 280 professional presentations at regional, national and international conferences. The impacts of these publications and presentations are reflected in public health academic teaching and mentorship, research and practices, as well as in Asian and minority health care policies and programs in the United States.

Dr. Ma, a nationally and internationally recognized scholar and a lead mentor for many junior researchers and faculty, has received numerous distinguished awards from academic institutions, scientific associations, and NIH and community organizations that include 2008 Distinguished Asian Health Leader Award from Penn Asian Senior Services, 2006 NYC Chinese Community Center’s Asian Health Leadership Award, the 2005 National Institutes of Health’s Martin Luther King Award in Reducing Health Disparities, the 2004 NCI-CRCHD Community Healthcare Leadership Award, and the 2001 NCI’s Atlantic Region Cancer Information Service award.

Research Interests:
Behavioral Health Intervention
Cancer Health Disparities Research (esp, Asian populations)
Tobacco Control and Lung Cancer Prevention
Global or International Health

Selected Recent Publications
Ma, G. X., Shive, S., Toubbeh, J., Tan, Y, Zavislak, J., Wu, D. (2008). Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Chinese Hepatitis B screening and vaccination. American Journal of Health Behavior. 32(2):178-187.

Xie,Y., Ma, G. X., Lan, Y., Zhou, D., Shive, S., Luo., Zhong, F. (2008) Evaluation on effects of the interference in workers’ smoking related intention in workplaces in Chengdu. Modern Preventive Medicine. 35(3):517-519.

Ma, G.X., Shive. S., Fang, C., Feng, Z., Parameswaran, L., Pham, A., & Khanh, C. (2007). Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Hepatitis B screening and vaccination and liver cancer among Vietnamese Americans. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 18, 63-74.

Ma, G.X., Fang, C., Shive, S., Toubbeh, J.I., & Siu, P. (2007). Risk perceptions, barriers, and self-efficacy of Hepatitis B screening and vaccination among Vietnamese immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 9(3):213-20

Fang, C., Tan, Y., Nungia C., Ma, G.X. (2007). A multifaceted intervention to increase cervical cancer screening among underserved Korean women. Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 16(6): 1298-302.

Ma, G.X., Tan, Y., Toubbeh, J. I., Edwards, R.L., Shive, S. E., Siu, P. Wang, P., & Fang, C. Y. (2006) ATECAR Special Population Network: A model for reducing Asian American cancer health disparities. Cancer. 107(S8), 1995-2005

Su, X.F., Ma, G. X., Seals, B., Tan, Y., & Hausman A. (2006) Breast cancer early detection among Chinese women in the Philadelphia area. Journal of Women’s Health 15(5), 507-519

Ma, G.X., Fang, C., Knauer, C., Tan, Y., Shive, S. (2006). Tobacco dependence, risk perceptions and self-efficacy among Korean Americans smokers. Addictive Behaviors. 31, 1776-1784.

Fang, C., Ma, G.X., Miller, S., Tan, Y., Zerr, T., Su, X., & Shive S. (2006). A brief smoking cessation intervention for Chinese and Korean American smokers. Preventive Medicine. 43, 321-324.

Ma, G.X., Tan, Y., Fang, C., Toubbeh, J.I., & Shive, S.E. (2005). Knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding secondhand smoke among Asian Americans. Preventive Medicine, 41, 446-453.

Ma, G.X., Shive, S.E., Tan, Y., Feeley, R. M. (2004). The impact of acculturation on smoking in Asian American homes. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 15(2), 267-280.

Ma, G.X., Toubbeh, J.I., Su, X.F., & Edwards, R.L. (2004). ATECAR: An Asian community-based participatory research model. Health Promotion Practice, 5(4), 382-394.

Selected Recent Grants
A Culturally Appropriate Cervical Cancer Intervention for Underserved Vietnamese Women (RO1), funded by NIH-DHHS (Principal Investigator: Grace X. Ma, PhD)

ATECAR- Asian Community Cancer Network (U01), funded National Cancer Institute, NIH-DHHS (Principal Investigator: Grace X. Ma, PhD)

A Randomized Trial of Hep B Screening and Vaccination in High Risk Vietnamese (RO1), funded by NIH-DHHS (Principal Investigator: Grace X. Ma, PhD)

A Physician-Based Trial to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening in Chinese (RO1), funded by NIH-DHHS, (Co-Principal Investigator: Grace X. Ma, PhD; Principal Investigator: Wenchi Liang, PhD)

All-In-One Breast Cancer Education and Clinical Support for Asian American Women, Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure Philadelphia (Principal Investigator: Grace X. Ma, PhD)