Larissa White, PhD, MPH, CPH, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Health Research. Dr. White’s research focuses on cancer epidemiology, with a special interest in health services associated with complex, metastatic cancers and cancer health disparities. She is currently conducting research on uptake of genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk in families with ovarian and related peritoneal cancers.

Dr. White completed her doctoral training in public health and epidemiology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she also received her Master of Public Health degree. Her past research includes disparities in the diagnosis of cancer of unknown primary (CUP) among population-based cohorts and health services access and use among Latina women with advanced cervical cancer. Dr. White has also trained and conducted field work in infectious disease diagnosis and care, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue fever and parasitic infections.

Selected Research:

• Genetic Risk Analysis in Ovarian Cancer (GRACE) Administrative Supplement

To examine the relationship between genetic testing at the time of ovarian, fallopian, or peritoneal cancer at the time of diagnosis and social determinants of health in a retrospective sample of people who received care at one of three integrated health systems from 2008-2019.

• Funder: National Institutes of Health
• Study End Date: 02/29/2023


• Patterns of Care Associated with Timely and Definitive Diagnosis of Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP)

To examine how adherent care and timely diagnosis affects survival in older patients who initially present with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) diagnosis and to examine how the diagnostic complexity of CUP affects those patients who eventually receive a definitive diagnosis.

• Funder: National Institutes of Health
• Study End Date: 03/31/2020

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