Zaria Tatalovich

Dr. Zaria Tatalovich is a Health Geographer in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Southern California and an MA in Geography from California State University, Los Angeles. Since joining NCI in 2008, Dr. Tatalovich has focused on integrating geospatial science into cancer research. She provided leadership in developing NCI’s geospatial infrastructure for cancer control and research, supported portfolio of grants, contracts, and interdisciplinary research that explores the complex relationship between geographic location and cancer outcomes.

Dr. Tatalovich leads the analysis, visualization, linkage, and dissemination of geographically referenced cancer surveillance data. She also oversees the development of NCI’s geospatial tools for cancer research and control, including the State Cancer Profiles and the GIS Portal for Cancer Research.

Among her recent collaborative efforts, Dr. Tatalovich co-leads the NCI/NAACCR Zone Design Project, which seeks to optimize geographic areas for cancer statistics reporting across the United States, as well as the SEER-Residential History Project, which links residential history data of cancer patients to environmental exposure information to support further research.