Staff: Shirley Bluethmann, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Shirley Bluethmann

Shirley Bluethmann, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Former Fellow, Transitioned Outside of the Program

Fellow - Cancer Prevention Fellow
Former Organization:

A behavioral scientist by training, Shelley Bluethmann, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. With an enduring interest in aging issues, Dr. Bluethmann hopes to explore the intersection of aging, cancer, and cognition with physical activity and other health behaviors to enhance health-related outcomes in older cancer survivors.

As part of her doctoral work, Dr. Bluethmann collaborated with researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to explore the prevalence and predictors of healthy behaviors in >1,000 post-treatment cancer survivors, examining factors such as time since diagnosis and symptom burden. She also conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials targeting physical activity behavior change in recent post-treatment cancer survivors, deconstructing intervention components, such as health behavior theory use, to assess their effectiveness.

Before coming to the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Bluethmann completed a Ph.D. in behavioral sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health, with minors in epidemiology and biostatistics, and an M.P.H. in Public Health Leadership at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She also holds an master's degree in public relations from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in English language and literature from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She spent 12 years in the national nonprofit sector, specializing in developing and evaluating health promotion programs for older adults.



Current and/or past BRP mentors include William Klein.

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