Pediatric MSN Specialty Program Coordinator,
Assistant Professor and Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar, Cohort II,
Associate Member of The Winship Cancer Institute,
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
404-727-6922
404-727-0536
Tami L. Thomas, PhD, CPNP, RNC, FAANP
Address:
Atlanta, GA 30032
Research Interests:
- Cancer Prevention
- Health Promotion
- Health Disparities and Equity Promotion in Cancer
Biography:
- Dr. Thomas received her PhD in Nursing Science with a minor in Epidemiology from the University of Florida in 2006 and began her research trajectory at Florida International University.
- She has been a member of Sigma Theta Tau for almost 20 years and is Fellow of both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing.
- An awardwinning nursing educator and a nationally recognized expert in health promotion, her work has been credited with reducing health disparities and improving adolescent health regionally, nationally, and internationally.
- Her research findings are a national model for implementing culturally appropriate patient education to the underserved.
- Her groundbreaking work is being disseminated through international and national presentations, publications, and consultations to ensure other nurse researchers can incorporate these approaches into their research, which advances nursing science on a national and international stage.
- She was awarded for her exemplary efforts in leadership and scholarship when in 2009, she was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar after a highly competitive process.
- Dr. Thomas has completed 10 funded research studies, and she has also been funded by the National Institutes of Health for her work in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and Health Disparities.
- The results of her research studies show that health care providers in both rural and urban areas could increase HPV vaccine uptake and reduce HPV-related cancers by using a multi-faceted approach to educating patients by relating to each patients’ values and beliefs.
- She has continued to publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, and disseminating new knowledge through national and international presentations.
- She has developed two instruments for both research and primary care, the Parent Human Papillomavirus Virus Survey and the Student Human Papillomavirus Survey, both published in the Journal of Nursing Measurement.
- Dr. Thomas has served in numerous leadership, advocacy and advisory roles with prestigious organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
- Dr. Thomas has a national and international presence, continuing to be sought out as a thought leader and consultant in the area of HPV Vaccination and Health Disparities.
- Currently she serves on the National Steering Committee for the National HPV Vaccine Task force in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- She also serves as President for the South Easter Region of the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine and the National Chair of NAPNAP’s the Immunization Special Interest Group informing health policy and educating parents and providers.