Freudenheim receives American Society of Preventive Oncology’s Distinguished Achievement Award

The American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) has named a UB cancer epidemiologist as the recipient of one of its highest honors.

Jo L. Freudenheim, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, has been named the winner of ASPO’s 2026 Joseph F. Fraumeni Jr. Distinguished Achievement Award, the organization has announced.

The award is given annually to an outstanding scientist in the area of preventive oncology, cancer control and/or cancer prevention who has made substantial research contributions.

“Over the course of her distinguished career, Dr. Freudenheim has made foundational contributions to cancer epidemiology, advancing our understanding of how diet, lifestyle and environmental factors influence cancer risk, particularly breast cancer,” says Jean Wactawski-Wende, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Professions.

“Her rigorous scholarship, sustained leadership and commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists have shaped the field and improved public health. This is a tremendous honor and a fitting tribute to a career defined by scientific excellence and lasting impact,” Wactawski-Wende adds.

Freudenheim will receive the award at ASPO’s annual meeting in April.

“I am very honored to receive the Joseph F. Fraumeni Distinguished Achievement Award. Dr. Fraumeni was an inspiration not only to me, but to all who do research on cancer epidemiology,” says Freudenheim, who served with Fraumeni on the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors.

“He conducted groundbreaking work in the genetic epidemiology of cancer and provided critical leadership in a massive and influential international and national program of research on cancer epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute,” adds Freudenheim. “It is indeed a privilege to receive this award named for him and to join the outstanding group of previous awardees.”

Freudenheim served as an external adviser to Fraumeni’s research branch as a member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Counselors from 2007-12.

Freudenheim’s research uses epidemiologic tools to understand carcinogenesis at the population, individual, tissue and molecular levels to better prevent and control disease risk and progression. Much of her work focuses on nutrition and alcohol.

Freudenheim was the overall chair of the working group that prepared a report for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, outlining the impact of reduction and cessation of alcohol on cancer risk.

With colleagues from the University of Puerto Rico, Freudenheim has been leading a long-term study of factors related to disparities in breast cancer among Puerto Rican women.

She also leads the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) study, examining exposures, including nutrition and alcohol, during the life course and breast cancer risk and survival. She is also one of the leaders of a project on communities of care, examining caregiving and receiving care for those impacted by disability.

Freudenheim currently serves as associate dean for faculty affairs in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, a position she has held since 2021. Prior to that, she served as department chair for more than 15 years.

She is also a mentor to faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In 2021, she received the Abraham Lilienfeld Award from the American Public Health Association’s Epidemiology Section in recognition of excellence in teaching epidemiology during the course of her career. She was named a distinguished fellow of the American Society for Nutrition Foundation in 2023.

Freudenheim was named a UB Distinguished Professor prior to earning the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor — the highest faculty rank in the SUNY system — in 2020.