As a behavioral scientist and master certified health education specialist (MCHES®), Dr. Charles R. Rogers currently serves as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Social Sciences in the Institute for Health & Equity at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). He is also an MCW Cancer Center Research Scholar Endowed Chair and the inaugural Associate Director of Community Outreach & Engagement for MCW’s Cancer Center. In addition to being the Founding Director of his Men’s Health Inequities Research Lab since 2014, Dr. Rogers is also an Associate Member of the University of Michigan-Mixed Methods Program. His career has permitted him to study, partner with, and/or be a vociferous advocate for various underserved and socially vulnerable groups including community-dwelling older adult, African American, homeless, Somali, adolescent and young adult, Hispanic, rural, Indigenous, and sexual minority populations.
Dr. Rogers is committed to dismantling systems of oppression to ensure equitable health for all. His transdisciplinary training in applied mathematics & statistics, health education, public health administration & policy, community-based participatory research, and cancer-related health disparities, provide a unique perspective for translating research findings into prevention methods among government agencies, policy makers, private health care organizations, and communities. Dr. Rogers’ capabilities and potential have been recognized locally and nationally by the receipt of several competitive scholarships, grant awards, and fellowships aimed at strengthening his knowledge and skills for a life-long career in health equity research. For instance, since 2018, Dr. Rogers has been awarded over $3.3M from the National Cancer Institute, the Research Foundation of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Exact Sciences, the Medical College of Wisconsin, 5 For The Fight, and the V Foundation for Cancer Research for his community-engaged, mixed-methods research aiming to eradicate inequalities in both colorectal cancer (CRC) screening completion among African-American men and early-onset CRC among individuals younger than the previously recommended CRC screening age of 50.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Rogers has shared his knowledge as a leader of the cancer health disparities workforce across North America, Jamaica, East Africa, Japan, and via numerous outlets including newspapers, minority health fairs, national conferences, peer-reviewed publications, community dialogue sessions, National Public Radio interviews, and TV appearances, among several other efforts. Since African-American men have died from CRC at the highest rates of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. for more than 25 years, Dr. Rogers founded the Colorectal Cancer Equity Foundation in March 2021 focused on removing obstacles to CRC equity among African-American men and other underrepresented populations by increasing awareness of CRC—a preventable, beatable, and treatable disease no one has to die from. Complementary to his President role with the Foundation, Dr. Rogers’ research agenda has contributed to translational solutions that address the complex underpinnings of inequities in men’s health, with a primary focus on CRC awareness and prevention among African-American men for more than 10 years. In addition to being a thought leader in the CRC space, his research foci also include cancer health disparities, behavioral & community-based implementation science, mixed methods, and survey methodology. Additionally, he is the Founder and CEO of Rogers Solutions Group: a premium consulting firm committed to providing clients with community-oriented, data-driven, and equity-centric solutions. Since Dr. Rogers is passionate about paying it forward, he has also received a number of honors acknowledging his servant leadership (e.g., 100 Most Influential Black Alumni at NC State University, 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health for 2021 by the National Minority Quality Forum).