For over a decade, Dr. Caburnay has worked at the Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL), designing, developing, and evaluating health communication programs that address a range of health issues such as cancer, childhood immunization, and chronic disease for target populations including smokers, families at inner-city public health centers, and readers of Black newspapers.

Dr. Caburnay manages one of three large research studies at the HCRL funded through the NCI's Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research (CECCR) initiative.  The study, Enhancing Localization of Cancer News Stories in Black Newspapers, is a national intervention trial among Black newspapers in 36 U.S. Cities that partners with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to increase localization and expand the reach of a cancer news service (Ozioma News Service).  The Ozioma News Service delivers community- and race-specific cancer information to Black newspapers in the form of customized news releases.

Her broad research experience and interests include health media interventions, health and cancer communication, childhood immunization, and community-level chronic disease interventions.  Her specific research interests in cancer disparities include: understanding how population-specific media channels like minority-serving community newspapers can enrich the information environment in communities bearing a disproportionate burden of cancer; and accelerating the dissemination of evidence-based communication-based interventions into channels and systems serving disadvantaged minority populations.