Vetta Sanders Thompson

Vetta Sanders Thompson is the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis. She holds roles as associate dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion at the Brown School, co-director of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research at the Institute for Public Health, and associate member of the Siteman Cancer Center. She is also a faculty affiliate in the Department of African and African-American Studies in Arts & Sciences. With a PhD from Duke University, her research focuses on health disparities, racial identity, and community engagement to improve health outcomes for marginalized communities, particularly African Americans.

Her work emphasizes culturally competent strategies for cancer screening promotion, reducing healthcare inequities, and fostering stakeholder engagement. Notably, she led the development of the COEQUAL Registry to address Alzheimer’s disparities and evaluated pandemic-era adaptations of public health training programs. She has served on the St. Louis County Health and Hospital Advisory Board and professional leadership roles in psychology associations, reflecting her commitment to both academic and applied impact.

Her funded research spans HPV vaccination hesitancy, overdose disparities, and the social context of caregiving for Black breast cancer patients. She has published extensively on community-based participatory research, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and the role of cultural constructs in health behavior. Awards include recognition for her leadership in advancing health equity through policy and community partnerships.