SP2’s Dr. Tamara J. Cadet named to 2024 class of Fellows of the Society for Social Work and Research

Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Tamara J. Cadet, PhD, LICSW, MPH, has been welcomed this month to the 2024 class of Fellows of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).

SSWR Fellows are members who have served with distinction to advance the mission of the Society — to advance, disseminate, and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society. The SSWR Fellowship honors and recognizes individual accomplishments, leadership, and contributions to SSWR as a scientific society. It is anticipated that SSWR Fellows will serve as role models and mentors for individuals pursuing careers in social work research and will continue to actively advance the mission of the Society.

Dr. Cadet is a public health social work researcher who advances health equity by conducting conceptually grounded research to promote health interventions and translate research to practice. In addition to being a member of SP2’s faculty, Dr. Cadet is co-director of SP2’s PhD in Social Welfare Program and holds an appointment at Penn Dental. She is also a senior fellow of both Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute and Penn’s Center for Public Health, as well as associate director of Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) and director of PC3I’s Program in Community Engagement Innovation.

The number of SSWR inductees this year was approximately one percent of the SSWR membership. Dr. Cadet joins six other SP2 current and retired faculty members who are SSWR Fellows, including Associate Professor Yoosun Park, co-director of the PhD in Social Welfare Program, and Professor Zvi D. Gellis, Associate Professor Johanna K.P. Greeson, Professor Phyllis Solomon, Associate Professor Allison Werner-Lin, and retired Associate Professor Roberta Iversen.

Dr. Cadet’s work focuses on health disparities of older people, particularly around cancer screening and cancer care. Her work is at the intersection of health and social work, spanning the areas of evidence-based health promotion interventions, facilitators, and barriers to reducing disparities in preventative health behaviors, and health care service utilization among vulnerable populations.

Dr. Cadet’s work has a continuing focus on issues of health among the under-resourced, underserved, and underrepresented, which has earned her a place as a leading scholar in the arena of social work and public health. She has been funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Minority and Health Disparities. She is currently funded by the National Institute on Aging to modify and evaluate a colorectal cancer screening decision aid for older adults at risk for low health literacy.

The 2024 Fellows were announced by SSWR President Sean Joe during the 2024 annual conference Fellows and Awards Presentations on Saturday, January 13, 2024, in Washington, DC.