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The Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research

Sally W. Vernon, PhD

Photo of Sally W. Vernon, PhD

Chair, Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences
Professor
Sally.W.Vernon@uth.tmc.edu

Department

Professor of Epidemiology and Behavioral Sciences

Chair, Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences

Blair Justice, PhD Professorship in Mind-Body Medicine and Public Health

Education

PhD in Community Health Sciences
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health

Postdoctoral Fellow, Psychiatric Epidemiology
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

MA in Sociology
New York University

Research Interests

Cancer Prevention and Control for Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancers
Psychosocial Issues in Cancer Genetic Testing
Measurement of Psychosocial Constructs
Reliability and Validity of Self-Report Cancer Screening Behaviors
Cancer Screening and Prevention
HPV

Biography

Dr. Vernon is Chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences and the Blair Justice Professor in Mind-Body Medicine and Public Health. Her training is in epidemiology and behavioral sciences. She received her BA in Spanish from the University of Oklahoma, her MA in sociology from New York University, and her PhD from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. Since 1985, Dr. Vernon has conducted interdisciplinary research in the area of cancer prevention and control with an emphasis on breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Her work has been conducted in community, work site, and medical care settings where she has developed and tested interventions to promote the uptake of cancer screening behaviors for which there is a scientific evidence base. Her most recent research has focused on developing and evaluating strategies to promote the initiation and completion of HPV vaccination. Dr. Vernon has published more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and is currently a member of several journal editorial boards including the JNCI, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Preventive Medicine, and Cancer Causes and Control. She is a Fellow and past-president of the American College of Epidemiology.

Contact

Email: Sally.W.Vernon@uth.tmc.edu 
Phone: +1 (713) 500-9760

Current Projects

Adolescent Vaccination Project: Multi-Component Interventions for Patients and Providers to Increase HPV Vaccination in a Network of Pediatric Clinics

The Adolescent Vaccination Project is a collaboration between the UTHealth School of Public Health, Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Children's Pediatrics (TCP). The primary goal of this initiative is to increase initiation and completion of HPV vaccination among male and female patients at TCP, a network of over 50 clinics in the greater Houston area.

Recent News

Sally Vernon, Ph.D., appointed to National Cancer Institute board

Thumbnail image for Sally Vernon, Ph.D., appointed to National Cancer Institute board

Sally Vernon, Ph.D., has been appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors for Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She is the chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health.

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