Hormuzd A. Katki, PhD

At ACS since 2025

Hormuzd A. Katki, PhD, joined the American Cancer Society (ACS) as scientific vice president of Early Cancer Detection Science after 26 years as a researcher at the National Cancer Institute. He facilitates ACS transition to "living" cancer screening guidelines that speed evidence-based innovations into practice faster, including predicition-based approaches to screening. He is also developing a program of guidelines-focused sreening research with collaborators across ACS and the wider research community.

Research focus and accomplishments

Katki's research centers on the development and application of quantitative methods to improve prevention and early detection, with a focus on individualized prediction‑based screening. Methodologically, his work spans estimating individual absolute risk and benefit, devising strategies for prediction-based screening and management, and evaluating trial and observational data on screening.

A major theme is translation to practice: he helped lead investigations that helped shift U.S. cervical cancer screening management to risk‑based guidelines via the principle of “equal management for equal risk.”

In lung cancer, he developed and implemented individual prediction models to identify people most likely to benefit from screening. These models are the back-end of the EHR-embedded clinical decision support tool Decision Precision+ that is freely available to facilitate shared decision-making to increase uptake of screening among those at high benefit.

He has developed novel approaches to the evaluation and design of multicancer early detection (MCED) tests. He has also collaborated to develop statistical models of MCED screening to project outcomes from different trial designs and hypothetical screening programs.

He plans to collaborate across ACS to:

• Improve use of ACS epidemiologic resources to address screening questions
  
  
• Boost surveillance of screening uptake, quality, guidelines adherence, and disparities
  
  
• Advance guideline promulgation, public awareness, policy, and uptake

Publications

Dr. Katki has over 200 publications, including scientific articles, commentaries and editorials, book chapters, and reports.  His articles have appeared in major medical journals including Annals of Internal Medicine, CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Cancer, JAMA, JNCI, Lancet Oncology, and NEJM.

For a list of his publications, visit his Google Scholar page.

Contact

Work before ACS

• Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute
• Mathematical Statistician, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Professional organizations

• American Statistical Association, Elected Fellow

Education

• PhD: Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
• MS: Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University
• BS: Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Chicago