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O’Neal Cancer Center to host inaugural Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Lecture

The UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center will host the inaugural Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Lecture on Wednesday, April 5, at noon in Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 101. Philip E. Castle, Ph.D., MPH, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute, will present “Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer: At the Crossroads for Global Health Equity.”

Edward E. Partridge, M.D.
Edward E. Partridge, M.D.

This annual lecture series honors Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Director Emeritus of the O’Neal Cancer Center and Professor Emeritus in the UAB Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, for his many years of service to the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Partridge was born in Demopolis, Alabama, and attended the University of Alabama. In 1973, he earned his medical degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, now the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology, where he served as chief resident, followed by a fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology. In 1976, Dr. Partridge joined the faculty of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at UAB, where he remained on faculty for 41 years until his retirement in 2017.

During this time, he served as chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and interim chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Partridge was an accomplished and compassionate oncologic surgeon with a legendary bedside manner that attracted patients from great distances who were seeking his care. In addition, Dr. Partridge is an innovative health care delivery researcher with a focus on challenges to care facing underserved patients, an interest rooted in his upbringing in rural Alabama. Dr. Partridge started the Deep South Network for Cancer Control, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute for 10 years, that identified and mitigated the barriers to cancer care in rural regions of Alabama and Mississippi. This program provided the foundation for the current Community Outreach & Engagement program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Partridge pioneered the use of lay navigation to improve cancer care, particularly the care of underserved patients. His work has led to the publication of more than 240 original papers in health care delivery research.

From 2007 until his retirement in 2017, Dr. Partridge served as the third director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Under his leadership, the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center saw remarkable growth in the research, cancer care and community outreach enterprises. Dr. Partridge was honored with the St. George’s Medal for Contributions to Cancer Control from the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Partridge’s many accomplishments have been achieved as part of a great partnership with his wife of 47 years, Barbara, and the support of his five children and 15 grandchildren, who now garner his full attention.

Phillip E. Castle, Ph.D., MPH
Philip E. Castle, Ph.D., MPH

Philip E. Castle, Ph.D., MPH is the director of the Division of Cancer Prevention, acting branch chief of the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program in the Division of Cancer Prevention and a senior, tenured investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute. Previously, he was a tenured professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, chief scientific officer of the American Society for Clinical Pathology and a senior, tenured investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute. Castle’s research interests are epidemiology of human papillomaviruses and cervical/anogenital cancer; science and translation of cancer prevention strategies; cancer screening; international health; health services research; and evidence-based medicine.

The O’Neal Cancer Center looks forward to celebrating Dr. Partridge and his many contributions to cancer research and care at the inaugural Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Lecture featuring Philip E. Castle, Ph.D., MPH. Boxed lunches will be served on a first-come first-served basis.

For more information, contact Laura Gallitz at lauragal@uab.edu.

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