Joel Milam, PhD

Joel Milam

Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Co-Leader, Cancer Control Program, UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

milamj@hs.uci.edu
UCI Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. Milam, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, is a health behavior scientist whose research includes the psychological and behavioral adaptation to stress and disease, with a focus on young adult cancer survivorship. He is an expert in understanding barriers to follow-up care and improving health outcomes among pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors, with an emphasis on Latino survivors. He enjoys investigating positive psychology and protective (i.e., stress resistant) factors of health and health behavior. His work also includes health behavior interventions (e.g., substance use prevention, adherence to care, quality of life, safer sex). 

Outside of UCI Public Health, Milam is the co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, which fosters and facilitates research designed to identify and reduce cancer risk, and improve cancer outcomes and quality of life throughout the cancer care trajectory. Milam is also the co-director of the Southern California Center for Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research, an interdisciplinary research collaborative whose mission is to study and to improve the health outcomes of young adult cancer survivors.

Research Interests

Dr. Milam's research interests include young adult cancer survivorship, positive psychology, and HIV prevention/control.

Current Projects/Studies

  • “Individual, cultural, and area-based factors associated with survivorship care among Asian/Asian American childhood cancer survivors.” 2021-2026. National Cancer Institute. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Milam/Miller).
  • “Project Milestones: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship” 2019-2024. National Cancer Institute. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Milam/Freyer).
  • “Social health, activity behaviors, and quality of life among young adult cancer survivors” 2021-2026. National Cancer Institute. Role: Co-Investigator (Miller). 
  • “Anti-Cancer Challenge Pilot Program: Electroacupuncture for the management of cancer-related cognitive impairment in adolescent and young adults” 2022-2024. Role: Co-Investigator (Chan).

Education

  • PhD in preventative medicine (health behavior research) from the Univerisity of Southern California (2002)
  • Master’s degree in psychology from California State University, Long Beach (1996)

Honors and Awards

  • 2021-2023 – President of the Positive Health and Wellbeing Division, International Positive Psychology Association.
  • 2018 – Mentoring Award (Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students), University of Southern California. 
  • 2007 – Professor of the Year, Kappa Alpha Theta, University of Southern California.

Publications

  • Milam, J., Freyer, D., Miller, K., Tobin, J., Wojcik, K., Ramirez, C., Ritt-Olson, A., Thomas, S., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Cousineau, M., Modjeski, D., Gupta, S., & Hamilton, A. (2021). The Project Forward Cohort: A Population-Based Study of Cancer-Related Follow-Up Care among Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancers, JNCI Cancer Spectrum. PMID 34585063.
  • Slaughter, R., Hamilton, A., Unger, J., Cederbaum, J., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., & Milam, J. (2021). Acculturation discrepancy and mental health associations among Hispanic childhood cancer survivors and their parents. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. PMID 34825748.
  • Milam J, Ritt-Olson A, Unger J. Posttraumatic growth among adolescents.  Journal of Adolescent Research. 2004; 19: 192-204.
  • Kim, Y., Ritt-Olson, A., Tobin, J., Haydon, M., Milam, J. (2022). Beyond Depression: Correlates of Wellbeing in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancers. J Cancer Surviv. PMID: 35187609.
  • Milam, J., Richardson, J., Marks, G., Kemper, C., & McCutchan, A. (2004).  The roles of dispositional optimism and pessimism in HIV disease progression.  Psychology and Health, 19, 167-181.
  • Black, D., Sussman, S., Johnson, C.A., & Milam, J. (2012) Trait mindfulness helps shield decision-making from translating into health-risk behavior.  Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 588-592.
  • Mobley, E., Moke, D., Milam, J., Ochoa, C., Stal, J., Osazuwa, N., Bolshakova, M., Kemp, J., Dinalo, J., Motala, A., Baluyot, D., & Hempel, S. (2021). Disparities and Barriers to Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Care. (AHRQ Publication No. 21-EHC014)
  • Milam, J., Miller, K., Hoyt, M., & Ritt-Olson, A. (2021). Is substance use among young cancer survivors the result of emotional and physical pain? Cancer, 17, 3064-3066. PMID 33974727.

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