Dolly C. Penn, M.D., MSCR

Physician (Research) Program Official
Division of Clinical and Health Services Research
penndc@nih.gov
301-496-8676

Dr. Dolly C. Penn is a program official in the Division of Clinical and Health Services Research at NIMHD and a board-certified public health and general preventive medicine physician. Her interests include high-quality and equitable clinical care, especially in safety net, low resource, and unconventional clinical settings, cancer health disparities, patient-centered health care delivery, interprofessional teams and care coordination, culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS), and how patient interactions with clinical and nonclinical health care personnel affect engagement in care, health, and health outcomes.

Dr. Penn has worked in adult primary care and held leadership roles in various outpatient safety net practice settings. Prior to joining NIMHD, she was medical director of a mobile medical unit providing free community-based medical services. Before that, she was quality director of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

Previously, Dr. Penn was a Medical Officer in the Healthcare Assessment Research Branch (HARB) of the Healthcare Delivery Research Program (HDRP) in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In her role at NCI, she was the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and scientific lead for the congressionally mandated Patterns of Care Study. As scientific lead, she analyzed study data to evaluate the dissemination of novel cancer therapies into community oncology practice and to identify multilevel factors associated with receipt of guideline-concordant cancer care.

Dr. Penn earned her Medical Doctorate from Florida State University College of Medicine. She also holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research degree from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. Penn completed the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Health Disparities at the University of North Carolina. She has also participated in NIH-funded programs as a Fogarty Minority International Research Training (MIRT) Scholar and National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow.

Selected Publications

• White, D.P., Kurian, A.W., Stevens, J.L., Liu, B., Brest, A.E. & Petkov, V.I. (2021, September). Receipt of Guideline-Concordant Care Among Young Adult Women with Breast Cancer. Cancer.; 127(18): 3325-3333. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33652
• Adjei, B.A., White, D.P., McCarthy, S., Priede, L.M., Baker, M., Kent, E.E., Weaver, S.J. & Geiger, A.M. (2021, August). Opportunities for Cancer Healthcare Disparities and Care Delivery Research: An Analysis of the NCI Healthcare Delivery Research Program Portfolio. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 32(3), 1475-1492. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2021.0145
• White, D.P., Enewold, L., Geiger, A.M., Banks, R. & Warren, J.L. Comparison of Physician Data in Two Data Files Available for Cancer Health Services Research. (2020, May). J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr., (55):66-71. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgz031
• Penn, D.C., Baker, M., Geiger, A.M. & Harlan, L.C. (2018, Aug). Treatment and Survival Disparities in the National Cancer Institute’s Patterns of Care Study (1987-2017). Cancer Investigation, 36(6): 319-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/07357907.2018.1474894
• Penn, D.C., Chang, Y., Meyer, A., Sanoff, H., Stitzenberg, K., Mack, C. & Carpenter, W. (2015, Jan). Provider-based research networks may improve access to evidence-based innovative colon cancer treatment for African Americans in the community. Cancer, 121(1):93-101. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.29028
• Penn, D., Stitzenberg, K., Cobran, E. & Godley, P. (2014, Jul). Provider-Based Research Networks Demonstrate Greater Hospice Utilization for Minority Patients with Lung Cancer. Journal of Oncology Practice, 10(4):e182-90. https://doi.org/10.1200/jop.2013.001268

Page updated Dec. 16, 2024  |  published May 9, 2023