Project Investigator Biography

Engelberta (Beti) Thompson, Ph.D. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center P.O. Box 19024 Seattle WA 98109 phone: (206) 667-4673 fax: (206) 667-5977 email: bthompso@fhcrc.org

Dr. Engelberta (Beti) Thompson is a Full Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a Professor of Health Services in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Washington. Her major research focus is on cancer prevention through lifestyle change, such as dietary practices and smoking behavior, as well as encouraging populations to participate in cancer screening activities. She is committed to a community-organization approach to intervention and utilizes that strategy whether dealing with an entire community, a worksite as community, or a subpopulation group as a community.

Dr. Thompson currently leads two large community studies in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State, an area that is largely Hispanic. Working with strong community boards and a large staff of local bilingual, bicultural people, she has influenced infrastructures in the Valley to become more involved in access to health care for all people in the region.

Dr. Thompson also heads a number of smoking cessation and prevention studies. She has published work on heavy smokers, differences in male and female smokers, and communitywide smoking cessation efforts. She received her M.A. and Ph.D., both in Sociology, from Western Michigan University.