Jennifer Vaughn, MD, MSPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, USA. She received her training in hematology and oncology from The University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington, USA, and it was here that she initially developed an interest in understanding the patient-specific factors that effect long term survival outcomes and quality of life after aggressive treatment for hematologic malignancies. In particular, she published on the effects of medical and social comorbidities on patient outcomes after aggressive treatments for hematologic malignancies. Her first faculty position was shared between a community practice in Roanoke, VA, and an academic research and teaching position at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Treating patients who lived in the surrounding rural communities, she encountered patients with both solid tumor and hematologic malignancies who struggled to adhere to recommended treatments and lifestyle changes that would otherwise lead to optimal survival outcomes. Counseling these patients was met with varying success—particularly among patients dealing with social and economic stressors. Faced with these clinical dilemmas, she expanded her research interests to investigating the social, financial and psychological mechanisms underlying non-adherence among patients suffering from oncologic and hematologic malignancies. As a faculty member at The Ohio State University, Dr. Vaughn continues to explore mechanisms to understand and target patient-related hurdles to optimal cancer survivorship in patients with hematologic malignancies.