Grantee: Mira L. Katz

Mira L. Katz

• Ohio State University

Mira Katz, Ph.D., researches ways to provide understandable and acceptable cancer prevention and control messages to different populations. Her overarching research goal is to reduce cancer disparities among minority and underserved populations. During the past decade, as a behavioral scientist, Dr. Katz has led research projects focused on increasing cancer screening rates and improving the uptake of the HPV vaccine. She uses community-engaged research strategies to develop interventions that provide information in understandable and acceptable formats. Dr. Katz has a special interest in providing cancer prevention and control information in literacy-sensitive formats so individuals with limited health literacy skills may make informed health decisions.

Dr. Katz's study, "Team Activation To Increase HPV Vaccination Rates" was developed in partnership with parents, health care professionals, and a transdisciplinary research team. The theoretically based multilevel intervention focuses on improving HPV vaccination rates among adolescents and will be tested in a future randomized controlled trial.