Joseph W. Cullen (November 28, 1936 - November 24, 1990) was an American cancer prevention and rehabilitation researcher and briefly director of the AMC Cancer Research Center (1989-1990). He previously worked at the VA Hospital in Maryland (1968-1973), the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(1973), the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

(NCI) (1974-1976, 1982–1989), and the

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) is a cancer research center at University of California, Los Angeles. History The center was originated by UCLA scientists and volunteers who began working together in the late 1960s.anti-smoking Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use to ...

campaign in the world at that time. Cullen wrote more than 90 publications in his lifetime, including four books.

Early life and education

Cullen was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, on November 28, 1936. He graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

in 1954 before earning a BS (1961) and MA (1965) degree in experimental and clinical psychology from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. In 1968, he finished his PhD in physiological psychology from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. While working on his doctorate in 1964–1966, he worked as an instructor at Florida State, Wrentham State School, and

Dean College Dean College is a private college in Franklin, Massachusetts. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and continuing and professional education and certificates. History Dean College was founded by Dr. Oliver Dean as a co-educatio ...

. He was a Quimet Scholar and a PBS

predoctoral fellow In academia a predoctoral fellow is a person combining study for a doctorate with some form of paid research or work, in other words a paid doctoral student. The term is only used in some parts of the world. Europe (EU) Across EU, typically a pre- ...

, and participated in a National Science Foundation Summer Research Program.

Career

After graduating with his PhD in 1968, he worked at the Pavlovian Research Laboratory at the VA Hospital in

Perry Point, Maryland Perry Point is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. Perry Point is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River south of Perryville, Maryland, Perryville and north o ...

, first as a research associate, and later as a research psychologist. He was also a lecturer at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the

University of Maryland School of Medicine The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Me ...

at this time. Starting in 1971, he was Chief of the Behavioral Nutrition Laboratory in Perry Point. He left this role in 1973 to join the

as a grants associate in the research grants division. The following year, he became the Head of Review Activities for Treatment and Rehabilitation in the

's (NCI) Cancer Control Program. In 1975 and 1976, he was Program Director of the NCI's behavioral programs within the Cancer Control and Rehabilitation division. He departed in 1976 and joined the

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) is a cancer research center at University of California, Los Angeles. History The center was originated by UCLA scientists and volunteers who began working together in the late 1960s.University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) as the first director of the Division of Cancer Control. At this time, he also oversaw programs in behavioral medicine, educational research and evaluation, career development and communications; was chairman of the NCI's Smoking, Cancer, and Health program; and co-chairman of the Department of Health and Human Services' Intergovernmental Smoking Program. In 1982, he returned to the NCI in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

as the deputy director of the Cancer Prevention and Control division. He and division director Peter Greenwald established a new approach to cancer control, which Cullen used as a model for the Smoking Tobacco and Cancer Program (STCP) he created in 1982. This framework was used to approach cancer by ascribing research stages for the first time. They made cancer prevention a research topic of its own right. Cullen was the creator and coordinator of the comprehensive Smoking, Tobacco and Cancer Program (STCP) at the NCI in 1982 to test a variety of cancer interventions. Significant amounts of money were poured into STCP to make it the largest program of its kind in the world; it was planned to leave the research stage and enter the public health sphere in 1991. In 1984, he was appointed as head of a panel by Surgeon General

C. Everett Koop Charles Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 – February 25, 2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon Gen ...

about the dangers of snuff. This project was called the Americans Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST), named as such after Koop challenged Americans to make the United States a smokeless society by the year 2000. In May 1989, he was appointed director of the AMC Cancer Center in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and was a clinical professor at the nearby University of Colorado School of Medicine, roles he held until his death in November 1990.

Related activities and awards

During his time at UCLA (1976-1982), he was editor of five different scientific journals; in 1984, he was associate editor of the '' Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monograph''. He also designed the Preventative Medicine curricula at UCLA. In 1987, he was awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion for his work on the ASSIST program under Surgeon General

Koop Koop is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aire Koop (born 1957), Estonian actress *Arnold Koop (1922–1988), Estonian historian, university rector *Bill Koop (1906-1950), Australian rules footballer *Doug Koop (born 1960), Austr ...

and in 1988 was named a Grads Made Good honoree by Florida State University. He was also awarded the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

's (ACS) Order of the Golden Sword for his work on STCP campaigns. He was active in both the ACS and with the American Society of Preventative Oncology (ASPO).

Personal life

On November 21, 1990, while on vacation in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, doctors discovered a malignant brain tumor. Cullen passed away at St. Luke's Hospital just three days later from brain cancer. At the times of his death, he lived in

Englewood, Colorado The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

with his wife Katherine. He was also survived by a son, Neil (or Neal) of State College, Pennsylvania; a daughter, Jennifer of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

; and a brother Richard and a sister Joan of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Legacy

In 1992, the first Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award was awarded by ASPO to

Ellen Gritz Ellen R. Gritz (born April 9, 1944) is an American psychologist and cancer researcher. She is Professor and Chair Emerita of the Department of Behavioral Science and Olla S. Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research at The University of T ...

, one of Cullen's mentees from UCLA. This award recognizes "distinguished achievement in continued national tobacco control efforts through research; the development of prevention and cessation programs with a wide-reaching public health impact; or public policy and advocacy initiatives." Other recipients of this prize include

Jonathan Samet Jonathan Michael Samet (born 1946 in Newport News, Virginia) is an American pulmonary physician and epidemiologist who serves as dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. He is also the chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee of th ...

(2002), Caryn Lerman (2004),

Stanton Glantz Stanton Arnold Glantz (born 1946) is an American professor, author, and tobacco control activist. Glantz is a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, where he is a Professor of Medicine (retired) in ...

(2005),

Michael Thun Michael J. Thun is an American cancer researcher and emeritus vice president of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Education Thun served in the United States Army for 3 years as a medic. Upon completion of military ser ...

(2007), Ronald Davis (posthumously) (2009), Stephen Hecht (2012), and K. "Vish" Viswanath (2014). In 1993, the Joseph W. Cullen Award was given to Emily Untermeyer from the Texas Cancer Council by the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors and the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency, under the United S ...

for her contributions to chronic disease prevention and control. In 1994, the first Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award was given to former Surgeon General Jesse Leonard Steinfeld by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). This award recognizes distinguished scientists working towards prevention research of

thoracic The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...

malignancies.

Nise Yamaguchi Nise Hitomi Yamaguchi (Maringá, May 6, 1959) is a Brazilian physician with the American ECFMG-ES tests. She has a master's degree in immunology and a doctorate in oncology clinical medicine, and is an international speaker for matters of health ...

and

Fadlo R. Khuri Fadlo R. Khuri (), is the 16th and current president of the American University of Beirut. He assumed office in September 2015 and was inaugurated on January 25, 2016. Khuri was also a professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology ...

received the prize in 2018 and Denise Aberle did so in 2019. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors has an annual Joseph W. Cullen Excellence Award that recognizes "an individual ''outside'' the traditional public health field who has made outstanding contributions in the field of chronic disease." Past awardees include Courtney Atkins (2012) of Whole Child Leon for her work in establishing pre-K wellness and nutrition initiatives to decrease childhood obesity; and Kathleen Nolan (2014) of the National Association of Medicaid Directors for her work on the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

and

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

sustainability.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Joseph W. American cancer researchers Florida State University alumni 1936 births 1990 deaths Boston College alumni Boston Latin School alumni National Institutes of Health people University of California, Los Angeles staff Florida State University faculty University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty Anti-smoking activists University of Colorado Denver faculty Deaths from brain cancer in California Scientists from Boston Scientists from Maryland People from Bethesda, Maryland