Ida J. Spruill, Ph.D., was a researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina who touched the lives of many through her important research in the Sea Island community. This community is a unique group of African Americans who are known for preserving more of their cultural heritage than any other group of African Americans in the U.S. The group is important to cancer research because it is uniquely positioned to allow genetic studies of complex diseases such as hormone-related cancer.