
About UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
UTHealth Houston School of Public Health is one of six schools of UTHealth Houston, the most comprehensive academic health system in The University of Texas System and the U.S. Gulf Coast region. In addition to the School of Public Health, UTHealth Houston is home to schools of biomedical informatics, biomedical sciences, dentistry, medicine, and nursing. The mission of the School of Public Health is “Changing the culture of health through excellence in graduate education, research, and engagement.” Our vision is “Health without boundaries.” The mission and vision of our organization are exemplified by our values of collaboration, leadership, and transformation. Our research team functions within the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research (CHPPR) at the School of Public Health. The Center’s mission is “To conduct research to develop, evaluate, and disseminate health promotion and disease prevention programs in a variety of settings and populations.” CHPPR includes accomplished behavioral scientists and researchers focusing on various health promotion projects, targeting topics such as cancer prevention and screening (e.g., HPV vaccination, tobacco cessation), adolescent sexual health, HIV, and substance use.
Meet the All For Them Team
All for Them is a project led by researchers at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in collaboration with an advisory committee comprising members from schools, health care providers, and community organizations. The team has developed the "Implementing All for Them" blueprint, a multifaceted implementation support system aiming to support schools, school districts, and health care providers in bringing the successful All for Them school-based vaccination program to their communities.

Paula M. Cuccaro, PhD
Program DirectorDr. Cuccaro is an assistant professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences and a researcher at the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She has over 25 years of experience working on projects focused on improving the health of children and adolescents. Her current research activities involve the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of multilevel interventions to improve vaccination uptake, cancer screenings, as well as improving the health and wellness of vulnerable youth. Dr. Cuccaro is invested in community engagement research and efforts, including serving as an associate director of community engagement of the Texas Prevention Research Center and leading the community engagement efforts for multiple initiatives to increase COVID-19 prevention in Texas.

Lara Savas, PhD
Co-InvestigatorDr. Savas is an associate professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in the Division of Behavioral Sciences. Her intervention planning, implementation and evaluation research focus includes the application of epidemiologic, behavioral science, and community-based participatory research methods to develop and evaluate community-, clinic- and school-based health promotion programs. Her research focuses on health problems in underserved populations, such as un- and under-insured groups, ethnic/racial minorities, rural populations, and veterans. Her intervention research experience includes the development, implementation, and evaluation of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and HPV vaccination, smoke-free homes, acute stroke, and most recently COVID-19 testing behavioral interventions. Her health promotion research includes collaborations with clinic systems, community health centers, community health worker programs, and other nonprofit organizations. Dr. Savas graduated from Tufts University and received her doctorate and master’s in science in epidemiology from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She completed a National Cancer Institute pre-doctoral fellowship in cancer prevention at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine in clinical epidemiology and outcomes services research.

Timothy Walker, PHD
Co-InvestigatorDr. Walker is an assistant professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health. Dr. Walker has extensive research experience in implementation science, which includes implementation mapping and the measurement of implementation constructs. In addition, he has experience applying quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research in school settings. Dr. Walker’s research interests include health education/behavioral sciences, physical activity, cancer prevention, and program evaluation. His research currently focuses on developing and testing implementation strategies to support physical activity in elementary schools. Dr. Walker earned his Bachelor of Art degree from Connecticut College, his master’s degree in kinesiology/exercise science from the University of Connecticut, and his doctorate degree in health promotion and behavioral sciences from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in cancer prevention and control.

Efrat K. Gabay, MPH
Senior Project ManagerEfrat Gabay manages the daily operations of the All for Them vaccination initiative, including supervising project staff and coordination with partner district leadership. She has extensive experience in project management, development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of public health intervention programs. She has coordinated several research projects at the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research since 2010, mainly in the areas of HPV vaccination, adolescent sexual health and healthy relationships. Efrat previously coordinated the development and production of several curricula, including Me & You, a healthy relationship/dating violence prevention curriculum for 6th-grade students; IYG Tech, a computer-based sexual health education curricula for 7th- and 8th-grade students; and Your Game, Your Life, a classroom- and computer-based sexual health education curricula for high school students. She also coordinated the development of iCHAMPSS, a decision support system for school districts to adopt, implement and sustain evidence-based sexual health curricula, and the Adolescent Vaccination Project, focusing on increasing HPV vaccine uptake in a network of pediatric clinics. Her research interests include cancer prevention, prevention of adolescent risk behaviors, child and adolescent mental health and chronic disease management in youth. Efrat earned her Master of Public Health degree (Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences) at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and her Bachelor of Science in psychology at Tulane University.

Jihye (Jenn) Choi, PhD
Post-doctoral FellowJenn is a postdoctoral research fellow at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She assists with qualitative data collection and implementation mapping tasks on the All for Them Texas project. Jenn received her bachelor's degree from Queen's University, her master’s degree from Seoul National University, and her doctoral degree in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences from the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding psychosocial and behavioral factors influencing vaccine hesitancy and developing effective vaccine communication strategies for cancer prevention.

Mayra Aguilar McBride, MS
Research CoordinatorMayra is the project coordinator for the All for Them Texas project at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She has seven years of experience providing vaccine education to parents and youth, engaging with community organizations, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to implement school-based vaccination clinics in medically underserved communities across Houston. Her roles in this project include coordinating the project's intervention development, implementation, and evaluation activities, supporting the project's recruitment efforts, and managing the membership and communication of the project's advisory board committee. Prior to joining UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Mayra worked at the Children’s Learning Institute at UTHealth, where she performed cognitive, social, and emotional assessments with children ages 3-6-years-old. Mayra earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and her master’s degree in Clinic Psychology from California Lutheran University. Her research interests include cancer prevention, HPV vaccination education and uptake, dissemination and implementation science, and language and literacy development in early childhood.

Amy Casebier
Manager CommunicationsAmy Casebier is the manager communications for All for Them Texas. Her background in journalism, design, marketing, and writing supports her passion for storytelling and increasing access to information. At UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Amy also works on the All for Them vaccination program, the Texas CARES COVID-19 survey, and a rural health vaccination project through the Texas Epidemic Public Health Initiative. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish at Hanover College.

Hyejung Shim, MS-MIS
Web DeveloperHyejung is a Web Developer III for the All for Them Texas dissemination and implementation project at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. With over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and higher education institute, she specializes in Web (UI/UX) Development, IT project management, and database management. Hyejung also works for the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI). She earned her master's degree in IT Management Strategic from the Yonsei University in Korea, and her Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) from the Texas Southern University.

Amy Montelongo Eldridge
Graduate Research AssistantAmy is a second-year MPH student at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health seeking a degree in Health Services Organizations. She is a graduate research assistant for the All for Them Texas project. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Tyler and her Associate of Art degree in general studies from San Jacinto College.
Acknowledgements
All for Them is funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (PP230033). The research team extends our gratitude to the many individuals who contributed to the development of "Implementing All for Them". We thank our advisors and collaborators whose contributions provided immense value to this initiative.
Advisory Group
- Mayra Aquino, MS
- Rosalind Bello, MA
- Nancy Bocanegra
- Blake Harper, MPH
- Gwendolyn Johnson, BSN, RN, MEd
- Yen-Chi Le, PhD
- Gertrudes Morin, BSN, RN
- Ruth Rechis, PhD
- Karen Schwind, BSN, RN, NCSN
- Misty VanCampen, BSN, RN, CCM

Follow All for Them on social media AllForThemVaccines AllVaccines AllForThemVaccines