Tamsen L Bassford, MD

Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine - (Clinical Scholar Track)

Dr. Bassford has been active in the area of cancer prevention and women's health. She was Principal Investigator for the Arizona site of the Women's Health Initiative, a randomized clinical trial of three preventive interventions in postmenopausal women, a grant awarded by the National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute (NHLBI). Dr. Bassford developed the Mensajeras de Salud Project, a lay health education project directed at breast and cervical cancer in Hispanic women, which operated for ten years in Tucson. She has served on the Mammography Advisory Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the FDA Mammography Advisory Committee, and the National Institute of Health (NIH) Consensus Panel on Osteoporosis. Dr. Bassford also has extensive experience in the health care needs of adults with developmental disabilities. Beginning in the 1980s, Dr. Bassford worked with community agencies to successfully transition developmentally disabled adults from an institutional setting to community living. Since 2006, she has been the principal investigator for the Sonoran University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in DFCM, where she continues to lead efforts to provide comprehensive, competent and compassionate health care services to people with developmental disabilities.

Degree(s)

  • BS: Bryn Mawr College, Biology
  • MD: University of Southern California
Residency
University of Arizona College of Medicine, Family Medicine, 1987
Los Angeles County Hospital, Los Angeles, California, Pediatrics, 1984
Board Certifications
Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiner
Diplomate, American Board of Family Practice
Honors and Awards
Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona