Overview
Dr. Dinan is a health services researcher by training and she specializes in using econometric and epidemiologic methodologies to analyze complex datasets. Specifically, Dr. Dinan's research involves issues related to advances in cancer care technologies, such as emerging treatments and diagnostics, and how these advances in technologies impact different cancer outcomes and experiences such as access, quality of care, cost of care, and health disparities.
Dr. Dinan has led studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She is currently leading an NCI-funded R01 study examining multi-level factors that contribute to disparities in access and adherence to oral anticancer agents for patients with kidney cancer. Dr. Dinan is also leading a study funded by the ACS to develop and validate risk prediction algorithms to inform efficient and high-quality care for long-term cancer survivors.
Areas of expertise: Health Economics, Health Policy, and Health Services Research
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Scholarly Works
Interprovider Variation in Initiation of Bone-Modifying Agents for Patients With Prostate Cancer.
Journal article JCO Oncol Pract · September 2026 PURPOSE: Oncology clinical practice guidelines recommend bone-modifying agents (BMAs) to decrease skeletal-related events for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and against BMAs to decrease skeletal-related events in meta ... Full text Link to item CiteThe Great Escape: the systems biology of endocrine resistance and lineage plasticity.
Journal article Endocr Relat Cancer · August 1, 2026 Endocrine therapies initially enforce lineage identity in hormone-driven cancers, yet sustained hormonal suppression often triggers a coordinated systems-level rewiring through lineage plasticity. Previously, lineage plasticity has been characterized as a ... Full text Link to item CiteTumor characteristics associated with tomosynthesis versus digital mammography in older women with screen-detected breast cancer.
Journal article Breast Cancer Res Treat · July 8, 2026 BACKGROUND: Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has demonstrated improved cancer detection compared with digital mammography (DM) in trials of women aged 50-74, identifying more invasive cancers and detecting tumors at smaller sizes. However, its benefits f ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Disparities in the Use of Oral Anticancer Agents in Kidney Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2020National Utilization Patterns of Oncotype DX in Early Stage Breast Cancer and its Effect on Health Disparities, Chemotherapy Utilization, and Associated Costs
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2015 - 2019Bladder Cancer in Older Adults - Treatment and Outcomes
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP · 2016 - 2017View All Grants