Stacey A. Kenfield, ScD
Education
- BS, 2000, Physiological Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
- MS, 2003, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
- DSc, 2006, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Biography
Stacey A. Kenfield, ScD, is a Professor in the Departments of Urology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UCSF, where she serves as the Director of the Urologic Clinical and Translational Science (UCATS) Program. With over 25 years of experience in cancer epidemiology, Dr. Kenfield’s work identifies nutritional and lifestyle factors to improve prognosis and quality of life for cancer survivors. While a primary focus of her research has been prostate cancer—including seminal work on physical activity incorporated into the 2018 US Physical Activity Guidelines—her portfolio extends to other malignancies, such as colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and benign urologic conditions.
She earned her doctorate from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and directed the Harvard-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) prostate cancer clinical follow-up for a decade. Currently, she leads or serves as co-investigator on several NIH-funded clinical trials or studies, including the PROUD study, which examines an exercise intervention for older men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In her leadership role at UCSF, she oversees departmental clinical trials and mentors faculty investigators in the UCATS program to successfully activate and complete their research projects.
Research Interests
Research Interests
Dr. Kenfield is an epidemiologist, clinical trialist, and behavioral scientist dedicated to improving the global health and wellness of urologic patients. Her work is driven by two core objectives: building a rigorous evidence base for how lifestyle factors influence urologic outcomes and rapidly translating those discoveries into impactful behavioral interventions.
Building the Evidence Base. Dr. Kenfield’s foundational work established a strong link between modifiable habits and lethal prostate cancer. Her research estimated that 47% of lethal prostate cancer cases in the U.S. could be prevented if men over 60 adopted five or six specific healthy habits related to diet, exercise, and weight management.
Health Equity and Disparities. Dr. Kenfield is committed to improving outcomes for underrepresented populations. Her collaborative work as a co-investigator on an NIH/NCI-funded U54 Award explores the interplay of tumor genomics, social drivers, and lifestyle habits to improve cancer health disparity outcomes. Additionally, her research has shown that high lifestyle scores are associated with a 54% lower risk of prostate cancer death in African American men.
Translating Discovery into Impact. Dr. Kenfield and the lifestyle and oncology research team at UCSF have together led 12 clinical trials, impacting over 1,200 cancer patients by testing how digital health and exercise interventions improve clinical and psychological outcomes. Dr. Kenfield’s key leadership roles include:
- Prostate 8: Developed a technology-enhanced program that successfully helped patients adopt behaviors linked to improved clinical outcomes.
- Prostate 8-II: Served as PI for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the effects of 2-year, remotely delivered diet-only, exercise-only, and diet plus exercise interventions on biological and clinical outcomes in men who elected radical prostatectomy.
- Global Leadership (INTERVAL-GAP4): Serves as the Director of the Study Coordination Center for this landmark Phase III RCT across seven countries. In this role, she leads the study management team and collaborates with investigators worldwide to manage the study's scientific output and publications.
- Digital Innovation: Among the first to test remotely monitored exercise interventions (aerobic or resistance) for men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
Expanding into Benign Urologic Conditions. Dr. Kenfield has recently expanded her research portfolio to include benign conditions, such as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). She is the Multiple Principal Investigator (MPI) of the PROUD study, which evaluates exercise interventions for older men with LUTS/BPH, and is developing prehabilitation trials to improve surgical outcomes and quality of life for physically inactive patients.
Patient Resources
Dr. Kenfield leads the development of patient resource guidebooks at UCSF to translate scientific findings into daily practice. These materials, which summarize evidence on how specific foods and lifestyle habits may deter disease progression, are available through the UCSF Urology Lifestyle Resources page.
Academic Contact
University of California, San Francisco
Mission Hall
550 16th Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
415.476.5392 (Phone)
415.885.7743 (Fax)