From Awareness to Action: Addressing Asian American Lung Cancer Disparities

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among Asian American populations, yet prevention and screening efforts often fail to meet the needs of these diverse communities. Cultural stigma around discussing cancer, limited language access, and lack of disaggregated data create barriers to early detection. Expanding culturally tailored education and improving access to screenings are critical steps in closing this gap. This panel will explore innovative approaches to making cancer prevention and care more inclusive and effective for Asian American individuals.

Casey Lee

Director of Community Engagement

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)

Casey Lee is the Director of Community Engagement at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum. Previously, she served as the first-ever Policy Director for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), where she advised on federal health, civil rights, and other policy issues to advance the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities during the 118th Congress. During her tenure, she prepared the introduction of the Health Equity and Accountability Act – the landmark health equity bill of the Congressional Tri-Caucus, led the caucus’ engagement in successfully strengthening questions on the U.S. decennial census and other federal government forms to better represent and serve all AANHPI populations, and helped secure the removal of discriminatory anti-Asian measures from major legislation. Throughout these efforts, she developed and maintained relationships with over 100 stakeholder partners, including CAPAC member offices, congressional committee and leadership staff, and dozens of national and community-based organizations.

Prior to CAPAC, Casey served as a staffer for the House Judiciary Committee Democrats, an APAICS legislative fellow for Congressman Ted Lieu, and an aide on national immigration reform and candidate campaigns. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and born to immigrant parents from Taiwan and Singapore, she earned a B.A. in political science from UCLA.

Manting Chiang, MS

Director, Global Oncology Commercial Strategy & Business Development

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)

Manting Chiang majored in BioPsychology at Tufts University and completed her MS at University at Buffalo and PhD at Rutgers University in Pharmaceutical Sciences. In 2020 she started at BMS in the Clinical Pharmacology division and eventually followed her interests in Business Development and Strategy to the Oncology Commercial team in 2023. Since then she has explored commercial strategy & business development across oncology and continues to focus on innovative modalities, platforms, and novel pathways. Since joining BMS in 2020 she has been passionate to develop her community network and volunteered in the Pan Asian Network, a peoples business resource group. She first co-led a local NJ chapter and provided resources, education, and training to empower the AANHPI community through the rise of Anti-Asian hate in Covid and more recently is leading the Health Equity projects. She has worked closely with APIAHF in the 20x20 program and was excited to collaborate on the Lung Cancer Awareness Pilot Program to further illuminate the vital role patient navigators play in the community.

Sara Kim, MPH, MS

Senior Program Director of the Public Health and Research Center

Korean Community Services of Metropolitan NY, Inc. (KCS)

Sara Kim is the Senior Program Director of the Public Health and Research Center at Korean Community Services of Metropolitan NY, Inc.(KCS), where she has spent more than a decade addressing a wide range of health issues among Korean and Asian Americans in New York and New Jersey and finding solutions by partnering with healthcare institutions, academic organizations, private foundations, the state and local health departments (NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, Department of Social Services of Bergen County, NY Department of Health, NYC DOHMH), and other community-based organizations. She has successfully designed, implemented, and evaluated community health initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities among Korean immigrants. Sara holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Hunter College, City University of New York, and a Master's degree in Management Information Systems from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea.

Rod Lew

Founder and Executive Director

Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL)

Rod is the Founder and Executive Director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), a national non-profit organization created in 1994 to advance health justice issues for Asian Americans (AAs) and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NH/PIs).  Rod has over 35 years of experience in developing national models on cross cultural leadership, capacity building, community-based research, strategic planning, health equity and policy change on commercial tobacco, food, active living and the opioids epidemic.  Rod has given hundreds of presentations in 38 states and territories and 10 countries and trained more than 1500 community advocates from across the five major racial/ethnic groups and LGBTQ+s. 

Rod was a contributing author to the Surgeon General’s Report on Tobacco Use among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups and the guest editor for several special issues on commercial tobacco control and health equity. Rod provided testimony to the U.S. Congressional Committee on Commerce, the U.S. Surgeon General, the Food and Drug Administration, and other national and state policymakers on the impact of commercial tobacco and health equity issues. He has served on numerous national health advisory committees and produced several health educational videos.

Rod was appointed by the Governor of California to serve on the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (2000-2006). He served as Chair of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA’s) Public Health Education Health Promotion (PHEHP) Section and received their Health Equity Award.   He was the 2002 recipient of the Christopher Jenkins Cancer Control Award.  In 2009, Rod received the Lester Breslow Lifetime Achievement Award from the UCLA School of Public Health.  He also was the recipient of the Andre G. Stanley Health Equity Award from the APHA’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Section in 2019.