By Jill Pease
The American Public Health Association Cancer Forum has awarded UF College of Public Health and Health Professions Ph.D. student Xiangren (Florence) Wang, M.P.H., its 2025 Trainee Award.
Wang will be recognized at the Cancer Forum Oral Session held during the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting this November in Washington, D.C. Her research on using machine learning approaches to address social determinants of health in cancer survivor care earned the highest score among abstracts submitted by trainees.
Wang, a doctoral student in public health in the health services research concentration, applies artificial intelligence technology to research that addresses disparities in cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.
Wang’s winning Cancer Forum study analyzed data from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey, which predicts whether patients with cancer delayed or missed medical care in the past year, using 16 social determinants of health variables, such as food insecurity, housing insecurity and lack of transportation. She employed eight machine learning models to identify potential barriers to people with cancer receiving care.
“The findings highlight that targeting the most influential social determinants of health factors, rather than using an extensive set of variables, can significantly improve predictive accuracy and inform more focused interventions,” Wang said. “By integrating machine learning into public health strategies, we can develop data-driven solutions that enhance cancer survivorship care and guide policymakers in allocating resources more effectively.”
Wang is mentored by Yulia Levites Strekalova, Ph.D., an associate professor, and advised by Lee Revere, Ph.D., a professor and Florida Blue Endowed Chair, in the UF PHHP Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy.