Hirschey leads symposium for Scaling What Works

A large group of people pose together indoors in front of a wall with abstract art. Most are smiling and wearing name tags. The group includes a mix of men and women of varying ages, seated and standing in rows.

Rachel Hirschey, PhD, RN, FAAN, led the 2026 Scaling What Works – Improving and Accelerating Cancer Prevention, Treatment, and Survivorship (SWW-IMPACTS) symposium, held May 11-13 in Denver, Co.

Scaling What Works is a CDC-funded capacity-building program designed to scale evidence-based interventions across National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP) recipients.

Forty-nine individuals representing 28 programs from 20 states, five territories and three tribal organizations attended the symposium. The event focused on strategies for adapting, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining evidence-based interventions for cancer prevention and control. Participants engaged in a variety of activities such as lectures, workshops, roundtable discussions and a peer resource panel.

“It was inspiring to bring together cancer control leaders from states, territories and tribal organizations to learn from one another and strengthen their scale-up efforts,” said Hirschey. “The energy and collaboration we saw in Denver reinforce the importance of this work, and we are excited to continue supporting participants through the next phase of Scaling What Works.”

Hirschey leads a robust, federally funded research portfolio supported by the National Cancer Institute and the CDC. To date, she has secured more than $13 million in research funding as a Principal Investigator or Multiple Principal Investigator. She currently serves as an MPI on several national initiatives, including Scaling What Works, that shape how evidence-based cancer prevention and control strategies are implemented across the United States.

Additional UNC School of Nursing contributors included Project Manager Jenna Minser, who served as lead project manager and meeting planner; recent PhD graduate Jingle Xu, who led evaluation efforts; and Jennifer Leeman, DrPH, MPH, MDiV, who provided expertise in implementation science and capacity-building strategies.