My Story

Dr. Crystal Y. Lumpkins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah and Cancer Communication Researcher within the Population Sciences Division at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was formally an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Family Medicine & Community Health Research Division. Dr. Lumpkins’ current and primary research interests are in evidence-based public health communication, cancer-related genetic counseling and testing risk communication and implementation science targeted to racial/ethnic minority populations.  Her research is community driven where she takes a community based participatory research approach to engage African American and Black immigrant populations in Kansas, Missouri, and Utah communities in the research process to address cancer health disparities and health communication inequities.   She also is currently a member of the KUMC Breast Equity Task Force, Co-Investigator of the BEST or Black Breast Cancer Survivor Engagement to Solve Diagnostic and Treatment Disparities Project at KUMC and is chair and lead researcher with the “Faith Works – Connecting for a Healthy Community,” (FWCFHC) consortium that is comprised of area faith-based and community-based organizations, patients, nurses, physicians, and research professionals in the bi-state area.  In addition to her research efforts, she has authored dozens of health disparity and health communication publications and is actively engaged with other cancer-related research and projects with the National Institutes of Health, Five for the Fight, the KU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office and throughout the Kansas City and Salt Lake City metropolitan areas. She also mentors and teaches graduate, post-baccalaureate and undergraduate students, and is an active member within her faith community. Dr. Lumpkins received her Doctorate with an emphasis in Health Communication and Strategic Communication in 2007 and a Bachelor of Journalism Degree in 1992 from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received a dual Master of Arts Degree in Media Communication and Management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1997. She is married to Rev. Garry Lumpkins, Jr. and is a mom of three children, Israel, Isaiah and Shaddiah and resides in North Salt Lake, Utah.