Dr. Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater

With 20 years of experience teaching, several years’ experience conducting public health research, and a doctorate already in hand, it would seem that Dr. Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater had already learned all she needed to know to be a success in public health.

But when she became director of the Outreach Research and Education Program at the University of California, Davis Cancer Center last July, von Friederichs-Fitzwater concluded that an M.P.H. would expand her already substantial knowledge base in biostatistics, epidemiology and community health. 

Personal and Professional Motivations
“I had noticed that most physicians or scientists who had medical degrees or Ph.D.s, later added an M.P.H. for more credibility in designing and carrying out community-based research,” she says. “And, also, I love learning.”

The UC Davis adjunct professor of hematology/oncology says she opted to earn the M.P.H. at Walden to expand her research skills while continuing to work full time. She also appreciated Walden’s focus on social change—an implicit goal of public health research and promotion.

Part of what has drawn von Friederichs-Fitzwater to cancer prevention and working with cancer patients is her own experience with the disease years ago.

“I’m a survivor of cervical cancer,” she says. “Now, I feel that I’m working to save lives from the disease and to help those who are diagnosed with it. I’m working to give back.”

Putting Coursework into Action
Von Friederichs-Fitzwater began her M.P.H. program last fall, but already credits Walden’s courses with helping her broaden her knowledge.

She cites the benefits of the M.P.H. Foundations course: “I just finished the course and found it helpful to better understand public health and its relationship to disease prevention.”

One of the course requirements motivated her to learn more about both her county public health department and the California Department of Health Services—specifically the state’s new public health department.

“I discovered disconnects among the agencies in terms of a unified approach to prevention of disease, specifically the prevention of cancer. A follow-up discussion with the director of the state health department and county health department management resulted in a new collaboration to address disparities in cancer prevention and control,” she says. “That's an example of Walden's philosophy about training scholars who will make a difference in the world.”

Responsibilities: Outreach, Teaching, Research
Von Friederichs-Fitzwater says her job at UC Davis is multifaceted. As director of the outreach program, she oversees a small staff and more than 30 educational and outreach programs to prevent cancer, assist patients and their families, and reduce disparities in cancer prevention, control and treatment.

As a UC Davis faculty member, she teaches third- and fourth-year medical students about “cancer as a process” from diagnosis to treatment, palliative care and hospice care.

She also conducts research. Currently, she has five grants—two of which fund her research into cultural and tribal issues and breast cancer.

“One is a qualitative study exploring the attitudes and beliefs of newly immigrated Slavic women and breast cancer. The other focuses on developing, delivering and evaluating an educational intervention for American Indian women to reduce breast cancer,” she says.

Von Friederichs-Fitzwater is also conducting research on how technology can help cancer patients—in particular, conversational agent technology and young adults with cancer.

“Conversational agent technology,” she explains, “is the use of human-like characters that are programmed with conversational skills, personalities and knowledge databases so they can interact with a human in the same way that we converse with each other.”

The agents, which can be programmed as male, female and any race or age, can also be made to speak any language. They can even answer questions, provide information and coach someone on new skills.

“This is a very new field within artificial intelligence and has great implications in health care,” she says.

—By Danielle Sweeney

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