J. Brian Cassel PhD

J Brian Cassel is Senior Analyst in the Oncology Administration department of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, where he is responsible for all clinical and financial analyses for all programs related to Oncology and the NCI-designated Massey Cancer Center. His analyses have been featured by the Oncology Roundtable of the Advisory Board Company and in the Wall Street Journal. Dr Cassel’s studies of the outcomes of palliative care are influential in the growing palliative care movement in the US, and he is a member of the Palliative Care Leadership Center at VCU, training teams from hospitals across the country in establishing and sustaining their own palliative care programs.

Dr Cassel’s doctorate (CUNY, 1995) was in social-personality and health psychology. His dissertation defined a typology of AIDS volunteers; this prospective, longitudinal study revealed the antecedents and consequences of altruistic behavior. Dr Cassel has taught at SUNY, NYU and VCU in BS, MS and PhD programs on psychology, research methods, and science-and-religion. In addition to his hospital role, Dr Cassel also holds an appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at VCU. He co-directs a community forum on science and religion.

Dr Cassel’s research interests are three-fold: in the financial and other non-clinical outcomes of palliative care; using secondary data to detect and correct disparities in cancer care; and in the nexus of science and religion in America today.