Harkness Project Title: An Analysis of Ethnic Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality and Survival: Understanding the Role of Access and Quality in Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment

Mentors: Andrew Bindman, M.D., and Rebecca Smith-Bindman, M.D.

Placement: University of California, San Francisco

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Elana Taipapaki Curtis, M.B.Ch.B., a 2004-05 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, is a Mäori (Te Arawa) public health medicine physician from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Prior to accepting the position of Senior Lecturer Medical, she was working at the National Screening Unit, Ministry of Health in Wellington where she has been investigating ethnic disparities in breast cancer epidemiology. She has previously worked with Te Röpü Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pömare - Mäori Health Research Centre at the University of Otago investigating ethnic disparities in access to invasive cardiovascular procedures/caesarean sections and the relationship between disparities and deprivation. She is a member of the Mäori Cardiovascular Advisory Group and has been actively involved in developing Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa - Mäori Medical Practitioners Association (Te ORA). Her research interests include investigating ethnic inequalities in health using a Kaupapa Mäori Research framework in order to eliminate existing disparities.

Career Activity Since Fellowship

• LIMELITE Award for Innovation in Student Recruitment, Support, and Graduation (Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education – LIME Network), 2009
• Senior Lecturer Medical, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, 2005

Current Position: Senior Lecturer Medical, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland. (Updated August 2010)

E-Mail: e.curtis@auckland.ac.nz

Harkness-Related Publications

Curtis E, Ouale C, Haggstrom D, Smith-Bindman R. "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Breast Cancer Survival: How Much is Explained by Screening, Tumor Severity, Biology, Treatment, Comorbidities, and Demographics?" Cancer 2008; 112(1): 171–80.