Anissa I. Vines

Anissa I. Vines, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She holds adjunct appointments in the UNC Department of Social Medicine and serves as a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UNC Women’s Health Research Center. Her roles include Co-Lead of the MPH Program’s Health Equity, Social Justice & Human Rights concentration and Course Coordinator for SPHG 600 – Introduction to Public Health.

Dr. Vines earned a PhD in Epidemiology from UNC-Chapel Hill (2002), an MS in Biometry from Louisiana State University (1994), and a BS in Statistics from Xavier University of Louisiana (1994). Her research focuses on achieving health equity through examining psychosocial determinants of health in Black communities, particularly regarding uterine fibroids, cancer disparities, and cardiometabolic conditions. She develops tools to assess stress and coping mechanisms related to racism and has pioneered studies linking life-course racism to mental health outcomes.

Her work includes leading the NC Community-Engaged Alliance (CEAL) to address pandemic inequities and co-directing the NCI-funded Outreach Core for cancer health disparities research. She oversees the Inclusive Science Program at UNC’s TraCS Institute, advancing equitable research participation. Dr. Vines has led over 18 years of cancer equity work and collaborates with community partners to build research capacity and implement evidence-based interventions.

Her grants include NIH-funded projects on stress-exposure interactions and community-engaged pandemic responses. She has trained hundreds of community health workers and peer supporters, emphasizing culturally responsive approaches to address systemic health inequities.

Dr. Vines’ lab focuses on intersectional public health praxis, integrating critical race theory and biopsychosocial models. She co-leads the Gillings School’s Health Equity concentration and advises initiatives like the Semblie digital platform to enhance study diversity. Her work bridges academic and community partnerships to dismantle structural inequities in healthcare access and outcomes.