Rate My Professor Arnethea Sutton

Arnethea Sutton, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences. A lifelong VCU affiliate, she earned her B.S. and M.S. in Clinical Laboratory Sciences in 2006, Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences with a concentration in Clinical Laboratory Sciences in 2017, and completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy in 2022. Sutton founded the C.A.R.E.S Lab (Cancer Advocacy & Research for Equity in Survivorship) in 2022, housed in the College of Humanities and Sciences and funded by the National Cancer Institute. The lab investigates cancer survivors’ post-diagnosis experiences and develops interventions to enhance health and quality of life, with a focus on racial and geographic disparities in survivorship.

Her research examines sociodemographic, healthcare, and psychosocial factors contributing to racial disparities in cardiovascular toxicities among breast cancer survivors, with expertise in multilevel factors driving cancer inequities, particularly poorer outcomes in Black women with breast cancer. Sutton serves as Principal Investigator on an NCI K99/R00 pathway to independence award studying psychosocial stress and coping in racial disparities in hypertension among breast cancer survivors. She is also Co-Investigator on an American Heart Association Strategically Focused Research Network grant addressing psychosocial stress and cardiovascular outcomes in cancer survivors. Recognized with first class honors in VCU’s inaugural National/International Recognition Award in 2023 for exceptional accomplishments, she was selected for the National Cancer Institute’s Early Investigator Advancement Program in 2023. Sutton holds roles as Assistant Editor for JACC: CardioOncology, Chair of the Cancer Health Disparities Special Interest Group for the American Society of Preventive Oncology, and leads Facts and Faith Fridays, a VCU Massey Cancer Center partnership with African American faith-based communities. Her publications include 'Medical mistrust in black breast cancer patients: acknowledging the roles of the trustor and the trustee' (Journal of Cancer Education, 2019); 'Assessing perceived discrimination as reported by black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer' (Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2021); 'Understanding medical mistrust in Black women at risk of BRCA 1/2 mutations' (Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 2019); and 'Racial disparities in treatment-related cardiovascular toxicities amongst women with breast cancer: a scoping review' (Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2022), among others, amassing over 670 citations and advancing health equity and cardio-oncology.