Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Texas,1,2 and Texas has low mammogram screening rates, ranking 41st out of 50 states. There are major differences in who is screened for breast cancer, who gets the disease, how serious it is at diagnosis, and who dies from it.3 Women with lower income or less education tend to have worse health outcomes with breast cancer.4,5
They may be diagnosed late, something that regular mammograms could prevent.6 Also, health insurance is a big factor:7 Only 36% of uninsured women under age 64 are up to date on their screenings.8,9
There is a critical need for targeted education, screening efforts, and support to help women access the services and care they need. This is especially true for women in communities with unmet needs. Texas Southern University (TSU), one of the nation’s largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), has a strong network to support such communities.
With grant funds from Susan G. Komen from 2018 to 2020, the TSU Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center served Harris County’s Third Ward community and nearby areas. We gave no-cost mammograms to over 250 women who do not have health insurance or do not have enough health insurance. And we offered education and navigation support (help finding and getting services) to more than 200 women.
In 2021, our Center received $1M from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) prevention grant award. In four years, we have been able to reach many more women. We delivered no-cost mammograms to over 1,400 women and health education and patient navigation services to over 4,500 women across Harris, Grimes, Matagorda, Walker, and Wharton counties. With our mobile mammogram events and clinic screening services, the community has come to trust us deeply.
In June 2025, we received $2M from CPRIT to continue to build on our model. Our work now includes screenings, culturally tailored education, patient navigation support, and Community Health Worker training for four new counties (Galveston, Polk, Brazoria, Trinity). We will also continue and grow our services in the original five counties. These important efforts build trust, reduce barriers, and save lives.
Texas Southern University (TSU), one of the nation’s largest HBCUs, leverages its strong community network to address these health challenges.
At TSU BCSPC, our mission is to advance breast health awareness and improve outcomes in Harris, Grimes, Matagorda, Walker, Wharton, Brazoria, Galveston, Trinity, Polk counties and its surrounding communities.
What We Do
Eligibility: Women 40+ (or younger if high-risk), uninsured/underinsured, or first-time/rarely screened.
Dr. Ajewole-Mwema serves as a Professor of pharmacy practice and the inaugural Assistant VP for Clinical Translational Research and Community Engagement at TSU. She is a Clinical Pharmacist and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oncology at Houston Methodist Hospital. She received her PharmD from TSU and completed her oncology pharmacy residency at Houston Methodist Hospital. She is a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist with clinical practice in oral chemotherapy at Houston Methodist Hospital Cancer Center.
She is the Principal Investigator and Program Director of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Funded TSU Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center (TSU BCSCPC). This program provides no-cost breast cancer screening and diagnostic services, patient navigation, and education for women. She also serves as PI, Core Director, Site Director, or co-Investigator on several of NIH, NCI, CPRIT, HRSA, and private agent funded grants including P20 NCI grant (only one funded in the nation in FY23 cycle) titled Collaborative Union for Cancer Research and Educational Development (CURED); HRSA-funded Gulf Coast Collaborative Center for Maternal Health Research, Education, Advanced Training, Community Engagement, Health Empowerment at TSU (MHREACHTSU); NIH-funded Greater Gulf Coast Translational Science Alliance (GGCTSA): a multi-institutional alliance between The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), Houston Methodist (HM), Texas Southern University (TSU), and the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL). She is delighted to continue serving as the Founding Community Engagement Core Director of the recently renewed NIH-funded $21.5 M (historically high) Center for Biomedical and Health Research (CBMHR).
Dr. Ajewole-Mwema has received several awards for her recognizable passion that is anchored in advancing health outcomes in the community as reflected in her dedication and service to her patients, students, community, and church. She enjoys serving and spending quality time with her husband and four wonderful children.
Dr. Anneliese Gonzalez is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. She is Medical Director of the Memorial Hermann Cancer Center.
Dr. Gonzalez’s expertise is in breast cancer. In this role, she participates in community-based education and awareness events for breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with a family history of breast cancer and/or other risk factors for breast cancer. As an expert in this field, she has presented at internal UTHealth conferences, patient-centered conferences across the Houston area, and given multiple television and radio interviews regarding breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention over the years.
Dr Ogboh graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and completed a one-year general practice residency at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. She also completed a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis on Public Health Leadership from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Over the past 17 years, Dr Ogboh has worked in the retail pharmacy setting and pediatric hospital setting before joining TSU as the Health Equity and Community Engagement Pharmacy in late February 2024, where she supports health education, advancement, research, and training initiatives, including the Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center.
Dhuha Alkhaiat is an Internal Medicine physician with additional training in Anesthesiology and Critical Care for 3 years. Dr.Alkhaiat has been practicing medicine for 15 years. She earned her medical degree from the University of Baghdad in Iraq. She completed a residency at Canton Medical Education Foundation in Ohio, graduated with an Excellence Award in Ambulatory Care. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
She joined Ohio Physicians’ Professional Corporation as a hospitalist for 14 months. Then she moved to Houston, Texas, to work in urgent Care facilities and free-standing Emergency Rooms, as she enjoys more free time to care for her three children.
Her particular interest is to treat critically ill patients. And uses the phrase” My patients taught me more about medicine than any book did”.
She is Bilingual in Arabic and English.
Certified In ATLS, PALS, ACLS, BLS
Licensed in the state of Ohio and Texas
is the Care Coordinator & Community Liaison and Community Health Worker for TSU’s BCSPC. She has over ten years of experience coordinating health services. For TSU’s BCSPC, she coordinates mobile events in different counties and promotes awareness of breast cancer at community outreach and engagement events. As a community health worker, she can connect women with our organization to provide screening mammograms in their communities.
PharmD, BCOP, is a Clinical Associate Professor at Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Houston. He is also Clinical Assistant Professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at UT Health/Memorial Hermann Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Hunter received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Texas Southern University, followed by a fellowship in Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He is a board-certified Oncology Pharmacist. Dr. Hunter is the Program Director of the T.L. Burks Breast Cancer Outreach Center and serves as an advisory board member for the Texas Southern University Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center, which the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas funds. Dr. Hunter is the Principal Investigator of the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Cancer Health Outcomes at TSU in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Kelilah-Aolani Jones (goes by Keke) was born and raised in El Paso Texas and lived in Washington State for her undergrad years at Whitworth University to receive a bachelor’s in health science and a Bachelors in Community Health.
She brings experience in community health, care coordination, and patient navigation with a passion for bridging gaps in healthcare to improve the health outcomes in the Greater Houston Region.
She looks forward to building strong community relationships and contributing to the TSU BCSPC mission in advancing breast health outcomes.
Rosalia Guerrero has worked with community health workers for over 20 years throughout the state of Texas including urban, rural, and border communities. She currently serves as Director of Vulnerable Populations for the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) at the UTHealth, School of Public Health (UTSPH) in Houston and adjunct faculty at Texas Southern University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Rosalia’s interests focus on the expanding role of CHWs and their integration into multidisciplinary healthcare teams. Rosalia has a B.S. in Psychology and Pre-Medicine from Texas A&M, College Station, an MBA from University of Houston Downtown, and is currently pursuing her DrPH from UTSPH.
Lara is a versatile professional, communicator, writer, editor, strategist, and analytical thinker who brings over 22 years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in health, social justice, education, and research organizations. She has worked on the front lines in communities and has led targeted outreach and education initiatives across Texas and beyond. She has specific expertise in public health communication and social marketing, collaborating with diverse stakeholders to create materials and campaigns that are clear, engaging, polished, and accessible to the target audience.
Lara is the founder and principal of Attune, LLC. Her experience includes roles with The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Health Communication, SUMA Social Marketing, Texas Network of Youth Services, the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation, the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, among others. She attended Vassar College and the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Amanda Hackler serves as the external evaluator on behalf of the
Texas Southern University Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center (BCSPC). In her capacity, Dr. Hackler collects mixed methods data to determine the efficacy of interventions and to maximize impact on the communities served through this unique and critical program.
Dr. Hackler holds a doctorate in higher education from the University of Alabama and a master’s and bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University. In addition, Dr. Hackler is a 2014 graduate of Harvard University’s Management Development Program.
is currently the Program Coordinator for the BCSPC at Texas Southern University. She currently has two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminal justice. She has an extensive background in serving individuals within the community. She has worked in social services, mental health, as well as the educational and employment sector serving the youth in the community.
Lauren is now in the health sector with an aim to spread awareness about Breast Cancer as well as to continue to help provide screening and prevention. She also has family history with Breast Cancer. Understanding the significance of spreading awareness, she wishes to continue to make an impact to those around her.
Sneha is a Community Health Worker/ Community Health Worker Instructor for TSU’s BCSPC. She has a background in Health and values promoting and facilitating positive behaviors, like regular screenings. In addition to promoting the BCSPC’s mammogram screening services, Sneha also writes objective statements for CHWs to measure the effectiveness of the BCSPC’s health education sessions.
Kassie Thompson is a Program Coordinator under the Institute for Health Empowerment, Advancement, Research, and Training (iHEART), where she manages day-to-day operations across multiple university-housed community health programs. She also contributes to outreach, research efforts, and community events. A proud graduate of Fisk University, her HBCU experience and early work at a free clinic and on a nutrition program in rural and urban Mississippi shaped her commitment to health empowerment and culturally responsive programming. She brings adaptability, care, and a purpose-driven focus to supporting initiatives that reflect the needs of the communities they serve.
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