Meeting Overview
Diet and metabolic health represent significant opportunities for cancer prevention in the United States. Understanding how dietary behaviors contribute to obesity and inflammation — and how these interconnected factors shape cancer risk — is a critical step toward implementing effective prevention strategies.
The President’s Cancer Panel held a public meeting on diet, obesity, inflammation, and cancer on October 26, 2026. The Panel convened experts to examine the evidence linking dietary patterns to chronic inflammation and cancer.
Event Details
Date and Time: October 26, 2026 | 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Online
Agenda
| Time (EDT) | Session |
|---|---|
| 9:00–9:15 a.m. | Opening Remarks & Introductions |
| 9:15–10:15 a.m. | Session 1 Diet, Inflammation, and Cancer: Linking Metabolic Dysregulation to the Chaos of Everyday Life Diet, Microbiome, and Cancer Food Is Medicine in Healthcare Systems: Opportunities for Cancer Risk Reduction |
| 10:15–10:25 a.m. | Break |
| 10:25–11:25 a.m. | Session 2 Ultra-Processed Food and Cancer Risk: What We Know and Where We Go Next Diet, Microbiome, Metabolites, and Cancer Monitoring and Modulating Dietary Patterns: Opportunities to Target the Microbiome and Reduce Cancer Risk |
| 11:25–11:35 a.m. | Break |
| 11:35 a.m.–12:55 p.m. | Discussion |
| 12:55–1:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks and Adjourn |
Speakers
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Jaclyn Lewis Albin, MD | Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Public Health Director of Culinary Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX |
| Carrie Daniel-MacDougall, PhD, MPH | Professor of Epidemiology Director of the Bionutrition Research Core and Metabolic Kitchen University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX |
| Wendy Garrett, MD, PhD | Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Professor of Medicine Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA |
| James R. Hébert, MSPH, ScD | Health Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health University of South Carolina Director, South Carolina Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program Co-MPI, Center for Clinical & Translational Research at the University of South Carolina Charleston, SC |
| Sandi Pruitt, PhD, MPH | Professor, Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX |
| Rashmi Sinha, PhD | Senior Investigator, Metabolic Epidemiology Branch Principal Investigator, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute Rockville, MD |
| Fred K. Tabung, PhD, MSPH | Associate Professor The Ohio State University College of Medicine The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Columbus, OH |
| Fang Fang Zhang, MD, PhD | Professor Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Tufts University Boston, MA |