معرفی
Dr. Nancy Thompson is a Professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH), where she has been a pivotal figure in shaping public health education and research. She co-founded the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education and played a key role in developing Emory's Master of Public Health program. Her research focuses on mental health interventions, particularly Project UPLIFT—a distance-delivered depression management program for epilepsy patients—and epilepsy self-management strategies. She holds numerous teaching awards, including Emory's highest teaching honor, the Williams Teaching Award (2007), and the 2016 Scholar/Teacher Award. Dr. Thompson has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles and 10 book chapters.
Education:
- Ph.D., Psychology, Georgia State University
- M.P.H., Community Health, Emory University
Research Interests: Dr. Thompson’s work bridges behavioral science and public health, emphasizing underdog research areas such as epilepsy care, faith-based health initiatives, and evaluation methodologies. Her interventions prioritize scalability and accessibility, as seen in Project UPLIFT’s adaptation for cystic fibrosis patients. She is nationally recognized for integrating mindfulness and cognitive therapy into chronic disease management.
Awards:
- Scholars/Teacher Award (2016)
- Emory Williams Teaching Award (2007)
- CDC Communications Roundtable Award (1998)
- Thomas Fort Sellers Award (1992)
Advising & Grants: Chair of over 220 thesis/dissertation committees. Principal Investigator of federally funded projects, including the Managing Epilepsy Well Network Coordinating Center (CDC-funded). Teaches 5 courses annually, including Teaching in Public Health for doctoral students.
Labs/Teams: Leads Project UPLIFT, a collaboration with the Epilepsy Foundation. Co-developed RSPH’s behavioral sciences curriculum, emphasizing interdisciplinary and whole-brain thinking approaches to education.
