LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 22, 2020) – The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center announces that medical sociologist Pamela Hull, Ph.D., will join the center and serve as its associate director of population science and community impact. She will also serve as the William Stamps Farish Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and join the UK College of Medicine as an associate professor of behavioral science.
Hull’s expertise is in the development, testing and dissemination of behavioral interventions to promote cancer prevention behaviors, and she has more than 15 years of experience conducting community-engaged research. She is a national leader in the fields of HPV-mediated cancer prevention, childhood obesity prevention, community-engaged research, and health disparities.
In her role as associate director, Hull will oversee Markey’s community outreach and engagement functions in addition to its population science research agenda and infrastructure, which includes Markey’s Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program. She will also have oversight of the Kentucky Cancer Program-East and the Kentucky Cancer Consortium. The goal of Markey’s community outreach and engagement efforts is to accelerate science-to-practice translation across the cancer care continuum, with an emphasis on the needs of Kentucky’s citizens.
Two of Hull’s extramurally funded grants will also move to UK. The first is a grant from the National Cancer Institute focused on increasing HPV vaccination in community-based pediatric practices. The second is a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture funding the development and testing of a smartphone application featuring shopping tools and nutrition education tools intended for use by low-income and nutritionally at-risk families and their children.
“I am honored to join UK faculty and serve in this role in the UK Markey Cancer Center, which is a national leader in community-engaged research focused on reducing the burden of cancer, particularly among populations with the greatest need,” Hull said. “I am very excited about the positive impact we will achieve together with our extensive network of community partners.”
Hull earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Duke University and completed both a master’s degree and doctorate in sociology from Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the UK Markey Cancer Center, Hull was an associate professor in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Division of Epidemiology and served as associate director of community outreach and engagement for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. During her tenure at Vanderbilt, she led many community-engagement activities that helped reduce the cancer burden and health disparities with partners in the region.
“With her knowledge of behavioral science and cancer prevention, Dr. Hull is an outstanding addition to the UK Markey Cancer Center,” said Dr. Mark Evers, director of Markey. “Kentucky is home to the highest rates of cancer in the country, and developing initiatives around cancer prevention will be key to changing that statistic. Hull’s expertise will help Markey in its collective goal of conquering cancer in the Commonwealth.”
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