Vanya Jones

Vanya Jones is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Community-Engaged Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Health, Behavior and Society. She holds a PhD (2006) and MPH (2000) from Johns Hopkins and UNC Chapel Hill, respectively. Her research focuses on injury prevention across vulnerable populations, with specialties in older driver safety, youth violence prevention, and community-based interventions.

Education:

• PhD in Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2006
• MPH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000
• BS, Bowling Green State University, 1996

Research Interests: Combines behavioral science and program evaluation to address unintentional/injury-related harms. Key areas include older driver research, youth violence prevention programs, school-based health initiatives, and mentoring interventions for at-risk youth.

Key Contributions: Her work bridges research-to-practice in settings like emergency departments and schools. Notable projects include the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute’s Collaborative Space and the Take Charge! initiative.

Awards:

• 2022 Ernest Lyman Stebbins Medal (top honor from the American Public Health Association)
• 2020 Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society induction
• Repeatedly recognized for teaching excellence (2017–2024)

Grants & Labs: Leads community-engaged projects funded via organizations like the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Affiliated with the Urban Health Institute and Center for Gun Violence Solutions.