Susan Tortolero Emery, PhD
Professor
Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Research Affairs and Guy S. Parcel Chair in Public Health
Susan.Tortolero@uth.tmc.edu
Department
Distinguished Teaching Professor, Health Promotion, Behavioral Science and Epidemiology
Allan King Professor of Public Health
Senior Associate Dean of Academic and Research Affairs
Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences
Research Interests
Adolescent Health
Epidemiology
Health Equity
Injury and Violence
Maternal and Child Health
Sexual Health
Women's Health
Program Evaluation
Biography
I am Senior Associate Dean of Academic and Research Affairs, as well as Professor of Epidemiology and of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. I have devoted my professional career to public health (I am Certified in Public Health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners), and I strive to remain at the forefront of this evolving field as it relates to primary prevention and health promotion in the area of sexual health. I have extensive experience and broad expertise in administrative leadership of research centers, as well as in research on innovative, effective interventions targeting diverse populations. For close to 10 years, I was director of the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research whose mission is to conduct research to develop, evaluate, and disseminate health promotion and disease prevention programs in diverse settings and populations. For over 10 years, I was also director of the CDC-funded University of Texas Prevention Research Center, which united academic researchers, community members, and public health agencies to collaborate on developing effective strategies to promote health and prevent disease among adolescents in Harris County and across Texas. In addition to administrative leadership experience, I have over 20 years’ experience conducting research on risk and protective behaviors related to physical, mental, and sexual health, with the goal of understanding their determinants, developing and testing interventions to reduce associated risk factors, and disseminating effective interventions broadly. My numerous research, leadership, and teaching contributions have garnered many prestigious awards, including the UTHealth President’s Award for Leadership, the UT System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the R. Palmer Beasley, MD, Faculty Award for Innovation, and the Douglas B. Kirby Adolescent Research Award.
Contact
Email: Susan.Tortolero@uth.tmc.edu
Phone: +1 (713) 500-9091
Current Projects
We Can Do More (WCDM): Assessing Implicit Bias and Related Factors among Reproductive Health Professionals
The objective of this formative research study is to assess mental associations, attitudes, and stereotypes towards attributes associated with contraception methods and race/ethnicity among Harris County providers who work in reproductive health settings.
Be Legendary - Developing a Multi-Component Teen Pregnancy Prevention Intervention for Male Teens
A theoretically-based and youth-centered approach to reduce unplanned teen birth among male adolescents
Code of Respect (X-CoRe) Program
A study to develop and test the usability of a sexual harassment and assault prevention program for active duty Airmen.
Me and You: Building Healthy Relationships
Me & You is among one of the first middle school programs to have been developed and shown to be effective in reducing dating violence perpetration for ethnic minority middle school youth and to include components from multiple levels of the socio-ecological model.
Mobilizing Community Partnerships for Effective Sex Education in Middle School
Using community-based participatory research methods, researchers at UTHealth developed iCHAMPSS, an innovative, theory- and Web-based decision support system designed to facilitate the adoption, implementation, and maintenance of adolescent sexual health evidence-based programs in schools.