BY VEENA RAO
Atlanta, GA, February 11, 2026: Atlanta resident and public health leader Dr. Priti Bandi has been named to the TIME100 Health list — a rare national honor that may make her the first Indian American from the city to earn a place on the prestigious TIME100 roster.
Dr. Bandi serves as Scientific Director of Cancer Risk Factors and Screening Surveillance Research at the American Cancer Society (ACS), where she leads national research examining cancer risk factors and why millions of eligible Americans are not getting screened early, when the disease is often far more treatable.
In a landmark study published in November 2025 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Dr. Bandi and her team found that screening every eligible U.S. adult for lung cancer — the deadliest cancer in the country — could prevent more than 62,000 deaths over five years, according to TIME. Despite the availability of effective screening tools, lung cancer screening rates remain among the lowest of all major cancers.
The findings reveal a persistent gap between medical innovation and real-world access — a gap Dr. Bandi has spent her career working to close.
“What struck me when I moved to the United States from India 25 years ago was the ‘American way’ of making policies and regulations,” she told NRI Pulse. “There was always a reliance on science to drive policy. This way of thinking motivated and inspired me. At the American Cancer Society, I am fortunate to be able to do just that – generate science-based evidence to inform cancer policy and practice. Getting this recognition is a validation of this ethos.”
As an immigrant, of course, there is also emotion tied to this award, a kind of personal validation of the journey I’ve made from a young graduate student in Madison, Wisconsin, to a recipient of this recognition.”
Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, Dr. Bandi earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Osmania University in 2002. She moved to the United States soon after to pursue graduate studies, earning a master’s degree in Population Health from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004. She later completed her PhD in Public Health from New York University in 2019.
Dr. Bandi joined ACS in 2019 and now leads the cancer risk factors and screening research team within its Surveillance, Prevention, & Health Services Research (SPHeRe) department. Her team tracks major modifiable cancer risk factors, HPV vaccination, and screening trends nationwide, and produces the widely cited Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures report every two years.
Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining surveillance data, health services research, and policy analysis, with a strong emphasis on understanding — and reducing — inequities in cancer outcomes. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters.
Her work also informs advocacy efforts by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), which uses data such as Bandi’s to push for policies that expand access to preventive screenings, according to the TIME article.
Her journey — from Hyderabad to graduate school in Wisconsin and now to national recognition on the TIME100 Health list — reflects both the immigrant experience and the power of science-driven public policy.
Dr. Bandi’s inclusion comes during a year of rapid advances and shifts in global health. Over the past year, innovation accelerated across the sector — from customized CRISPR therapies to breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy and vaccine research. Against this backdrop, TIME described this year’s TIME100 Health honorees as “more pivotal than ever,” recognizing leaders who are reshaping the future of health care worldwide.
Dr. Bandi and fellow honorees will receive the TIME award during a special Impact dinner: Leaders Shaping the Future of Health on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in New York City.
The full list of award winners will appear in the February 23rd issue of the magazine and can be found here.
