The mission of Chyke Doubeni, MD, MPH, is clear. “I believe everyone deserves the right and opportunity to get the best care possible and I believe people who have socioeconomic and other barriers need not be prevented from getting that care,” said the Wexner Medical Center’s Chief Health Equity Officer and the OSUCCC- James Associate Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “All of us at the Wexner and James are very motivated by our mission to insure that everyone in Ohio has the best healthcare possible.” Dr. Doubeni is a family doctor and his research focuses on the effectiveness of screenings, such as colonoscopies, lung cancer and breast cancer screenings and recognizing and overcoming the social determinants of health. “These social factors are major contributors to poor health outcomes for underserved communities and understanding and addressing these barriers is crucial and my role is to create the processes to allow us to do this with better fidelity,” he said. His goal for the James is to provide better educational, screening, testing and treatment options to underserved populations in Columbus and in rural areas of Ohio, such as Appalachia. One of the ways to do this, Doubeni explained, “is to go to people where they are … with our mobile lung cancer van, our mobile breast cancer van and a free colonoscopy program run by the staff of the Wexner and James who volunteer their time.” Colon cancer screenings are another important area. The James is in the midst of what Dr. Doubeni called a pilot program in which people are given a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) that that is not invasive and that they can take at home to detect this all-too common type of cancer. “Our hope is to reach even more people who wouldn’t otherwise be screened,” he said. The James is also leading the way in using circulating tumor DNA to detect cancer in its early stages. “We have found ways to use a liquid biopsy, a blood sample, to detect cancer in the blood,” Dr. Doubeni said. This type of screening is still in the early stages, shows great promise and could be effective in reaching underserved populations.