Penn’s School of Social Policy &Practice (SP2) associate professor Tamara J. Cadet has been welcomed 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 the 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 Medicine. She is also a senior fellow of both Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute and Penn’s Center for Public Health, as well as the associate director of Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) and director of PC3I’s Program in Community Engagement Innovation.

Dr. Cadet’s work focuses on health disparities among the elderly, 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, barriers to reducing disparities in preventative health behaviors, and health care service use 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 for a project that aims 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 on January 13 in Washington, DC.