Rebekah J Pratt

Rebekah J Pratt serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She holds leadership positions as the Screening, Prevention, Etiology & Cancer Survivorship Leader at the Masonic Cancer Center and as an Action Group Leader for Retention and Recruitment at the Center for Women in Medicine and Science.

Dr. Pratt earned her PhD from the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. This foundation in population health sciences has shaped her research approach focusing on health equity and community-based interventions.

Her research program is centered on addressing health disparities through implementation science and qualitative methodologies. Dr. Pratt specializes in working with immigrant and refugee populations, particularly Somali communities, to improve cancer screening access, vaccine uptake, and other preventive health services. She employs community-engaged research approaches to develop culturally appropriate interventions that address systemic barriers to healthcare. Her work spans multiple domains including cervical cancer screening through HPV self-sampling, tobacco cessation in pediatric settings, food pantry interventions to improve nutrition, and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Dr. Pratt's publication record shows consistent productivity with 98 research outputs documented, including a strong recent output with 14 publications in 2022 and 11 in 2024. Her research demonstrates interdisciplinary collaboration across medicine, public health, and community organizations, with a clear focus on translating research into practice to reduce health disparities.

Dr. Pratt has secured significant research funding as both Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects:

• Principal Investigator for 'Reducing cervical cancer screening disparities in Somali immigrant women through a primary case-based HPV self-sampling intervention' (2021-2026, NIH National Cancer Institute)
• Co-Investigator on the Cancer Center Support Grant (2024-2029, NIH National Cancer Institute)
• Co-Investigator on 'Development and Pilot Testing of a mLearning Intervention to Address Sexual Health Needs of Gynecologic Cancer Survivors' (2024-2027, American Cancer Society)
• Co-Investigator on the 'Genetic Counseling Fellowship in Research Training (GC-FIRST)' (2022-2026, NIH NHGRI)
• Co-Investigator on the 'Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (C2DREAM)' (2021-2026, National Institute on Minority Health)

Dr. Pratt actively collaborates with community organizations serving immigrant populations and works within multiple research centers at the University of Minnesota. Her approach integrates community voices into research design and implementation, focusing on sustainable solutions to health equity challenges. She contributes to both academic medicine through her faculty role and to cancer center initiatives through her leadership in screening and prevention activities.