Rayna Matsuno is a cancer epidemiologist with Leidos, a defense, aviation, information technology, and biomedical research company.

Dr. Matsuno has earned peer recognition for her research in health disparities and women’s cancers, and she was nominated to receive a Professional Achievement Award at the 2020 Women of Color STEM Conference.

“As a mentor, Rayna’s constant support and kindness has been instrumental in helping me to grow as both a researcher and as a leader within our team," said Felicia Carey who is also an epidemiologist. "She is always responsive and encouraging of my goals and is able to motivate others to improve their own skills by demonstrating her considerable expertise when collaborating on projects.”

Currently, Dr. Matsuno is lead epidemiologist for the Millennium Cohort Study, the largest longitudinal study of U.S. military service members, and as a co-lead for both the Chronic Disease and Women’s Health Program Areas.

She also has more than 48 peer-reviewed publications in top-tiered journals and has served as an expert in cancer research and a peer reviewer to evaluate the scientific quality of potential publications.

Upon completion of her master’s degree, she was invited to pursue research under a National Cancer Institute-specific fellowship award program, as a pre-doctoral fellow within the NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Biostatistics Branch.

While a doctoral student, Matsuno was asked to join the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where she continued to focus on racial disparities in cancer risk and outcomes.

Please register no later than August 31 for the 2020 Women of Color STEM Conference.

Review the conference schedule of events here.

Click here to register for the online experience.