Staff: Alix Sleight, PhD, MPH, OTD, OTR/L

Alix Sleight, PhD, MPH, OTD, OTR/L

• Office of the Associate Director (OAD)
• Behavioral Research Program (BRP)

Alix Sleight, Ph.D., M.P.H., O.T.D., O.T.R./L., was a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Behavioral Research Program's Office of the Associate Director from 2018-2020. Her research focused on quality of life during cancer survivorship. She was particularly interested in topics surrounding everyday activity, habit change, spiritual growth, and self-actualization.

Prior to joining NCI, Dr. Sleight worked clinically as an Occupational Therapist with a specialty in health behavior counseling for cancer survivors. Her research has involved qualitative and quantitative investigations of supportive care needs and quality of life in underserved populations of cancer survivors.

Dr. Sleight earned a Ph.D. in Occupational Science and an M.P.H. from the University of Southern California. She also holds an M.A. and a clinical doctorate (O.T.D.) in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, and a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University.

"Where are they now?": Following up with past BRP fellows
Updated July 2021

Current Title
Clinical Scientist
Cedars-Sinai

How has your BRP fellowship influenced your career?
I made dozens of fruitful connections in BRP, and I am still actively collaborating on research with a number of BRP colleagues. I was also fortunate to call Dr. Bill Klein my mentor while I was in BRP. His example has inspired me to pay it forward by taking on mentorship roles at Cedars-Sinai.

Describe a favorite memory or two from your fellowship experience.
My favorite thing about BRP was the intellectual curiosity and the proximity to experts from so many different disciplines. It was incredible to be able to walk down the hall and talk to a physician, a social psychologist, a dietician, and an epidemiologist in the course of a few minutes. The interdisciplinary input has been crucial to developing my ideas as a scientist and clinician.

Describe your current position, your current organization, and what you do.
At Cedars-Sinai, I have a dual role as clinician and researcher. As an occupational therapist, I lead a program for cancer survivors called RISE (Re-Invent, Integrate, Strengthen, Expand), which is a personalized health self-management clinic where patients learn how to build new healthy habits and routines, develop strategies for managing cancer-related side effects, and return to valued activities after a cancer diagnosis. As a researcher, I study behavioral interventions for cancer survivors and investigate quality of life and adherence to lifestyle recommendations in the oncology population

Publications from Fellowship Work

• Sleight AG, Boyd P, Klein WMP, Jensen RE. Spiritual peace and life meaning may buffer the effect of anxiety on physical well-being in newly diagnosed cancer survivors. Psychooncology. 2021 Jan;30(1):52-58.

Current and/or past BRP mentors include William Klein.

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Sleight AG, Lyons KD, Vigen C, Macdonald H, Clark F. The association of health-related quality of life with unmet supportive care needs and sociodemographic factors in low-income Latina breast cancer survivors: a single-centre pilot study. Disabil Rehabil 2018 Jul 27:1-6.
• Lyons KD, Padgett LS, Marshall TF, Greer JA, Silver JK, Raj VS, Zucker DS, Fu JB, Pergolotti M, Sleight AG, Alfano CM. Follow the trail: Using insights from the growth of palliative care to propose a roadmap for cancer rehabilitation. CA Cancer J Clin 2019 Mar; 69(2):113-126.
• Marshall TF, Alfano CM, Sleight AG, Moser RP, Zucker DS, Rice EL, Silver JK5, Raj VS, Fu JB, Padgett LS, Lyons KD, Radomski MV, McKenna R, Pergolotti M. Consensus-Building efforts to identify best tools for screening and assessment for supportive services in oncology. Disabil Rehabil 2019 Feb 19:1-8.
• Sleight AG, Ramirez CN, Miller KA, Milam JE. Hispanic Orientation and Cancer-Related Knowledge in Childhood Cancer Survivors. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol 2019 Jun; 8(3):363-367.
• Stout NL, Sleight A, Pfeiffer D, Galantino ML, Wisotzky E. Patient navigation: building the intersect between oncology and rehabilitation systems of care. Support Care Cancer 2019.

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