Monica Baskin is director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate dean for cancer innovation at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, where she is also a professor of hematology, oncology and palliative care.
She began as director in August 2026, becoming the first woman to lead Massey and the first Black woman to serve as director of an NCI-designated cancer center. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Baskin is an internationally recognized leader in behavioral medicine and cancer prevention. Her research focuses on reducing chronic disease burden and advancing health equity, using community-engaged methods to understand and address the individual, family and environmental factors associated with disease prevention and control.
For more than 20 years, her research program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other regional and local foundations and government agencies. Dr. Baskin has served in cancer center senior leadership roles for more than a decade and is a founding member of the Science of Community Outreach and Engagement Alliance.
She serves on the board of directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges and is past president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
She also recently chaired the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Continuous Update Project Global Expert Committee on Cancer Incidence. Dr. Baskin is a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Emory University and a master’s degree in community counseling and a PhD in counseling psychology from Georgia State University.