Biography

Dr. Resa M. Jones is the chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a primary member of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. She is a seasoned leader and educator with a strong portfolio in epidemiological research who is leading the department's development and research growth and its pedagogical mission. Additionally, she leads the Behavioral and Cancer Epidemiology Research Program. Dr. Jones' track record in translational research and community collaboration is important as we advance our portfolio of community-engaged research—a major priority for the department and College of Public Health. She is a behavioral, cancer epidemiologist whose research primarily focuses on cancer prevention and control, particularly colorectal cancer screening and its barriers and predictors as well as environmental and area-level factors related to cancer. Methodologically she specializes in community-based intervention and group randomized trials, multi-level interventions, and dissemination and implementation science. She translates national policy agendas, particularly related to colorectal cancer screening, into research hypotheses that can be tested and have significant potential to benefit the public's health. She values interdisciplinary collaborative approaches to problem solving. Currently, as principal investigator (PI), she partnered with a local nonprofit to obtain funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assess the association between PFAS-contaminated water and cancer incidence. She is also the site PI of a CDC/ATSDR-funded grant assessing the association of PFAS-contaminated drinking water and health. She is also the co-PI of a large, multi-site CDC-funded surveillance project focused on post-COVID-19 conditions. She has also partnered with colleagues and community members locally and nationally as PI of two large community-based projects to increase colorectal cancer screening. These multi-level interventions include CRCS-WISDM, which combines shared decision-making in rural primary care practice with features targeted to all community residents, and MyCRCS, a NCI-funded study, which developed and is currently evaluating an interactive, web-based decision support tool that is integrated with the electronic medical record. Dr. Jones also actively collaborates as a co-investigator on multiple grants.

Dr. Jones has extensive experience with course development and educational programming. She is a skilled instructor, having received three awards for excellence in teaching within the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University where she previously worked. She also served on the faculty of the Multilevel Intervention Training Institute of the National Cancer Institute and AcademyHealth. In addition, she serves as a mentor on career development awards and dissertation completion grants.

Dr. Jones is a fellow in the American College of Epidemiology and is well known within the American Public Health Association (APHA) and national organizations related to cancer research. She has held several leadership positions in APHA such as chair of the Executive Board, governing councilor, and a member of the Science Board; she is currently on the Committee on Bylaws. Her strong ties in the profession will be of immense use to the College of Public Health as we build our reputation within the community of accredited Schools of Public Health.

Education

  • PhD, Epidemiology—Behavioral and Cancer, University of Minnesota
  • MPH, Epidemiology, University of Minnesota
  • BA, Biology, University of Minnesota
  • BA, Physiology, University of Minnesota

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

EPBI 8212

Grantsmanship in Health Research

Graduate

Selected Publications

  • Clarke, L.M., Jones, R.M., Hiremath, S.V., Franklin, C., Wright, W.G., & Tucker, C.A. (2024). The Effects of Age and Height on Gait Smoothness in Adolescent Athletes. Children (Basel), 11(2). Switzerland. doi: 10.3390/children11020223

  • Jones, R.M., Snead, R., Sarwer, D.B., & Ibrahim, J.K. (2023). Mask Adherence and the Relationship Between Masking and Weather-Related Metrics. J Community Health, 48(5), pp. 761-768. Netherlands. doi: 10.1007/s10900-023-01219-3

  • Salgado, T.M., Radwan, R.M., Zacholski, E.H., Mackler, E., Buffington, T.M., Musselman, K.T., Irvin, W.J., Perkins, J.M., Le, T.N., Dixon, D.L., Farris, K.B., Sheppard, V.B., & Jones, R.M. (2023). Oncologists' responsibility, comfort, and knowledge managing hyperglycemia in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy: a cross sectional study. Support Care Cancer, 31(8), p. 450. Germany. doi: 10.1007/s00520-023-07927-9

  • Riggs, M.A., Madni, S.A., Cornelius, J., Zhang, A., Czarnik, M., Zullig, K., Bensley, R.J., Gibson-Young, L., Gardner, M., Waggett, C.E., Grabeel, V., Pettyjohn, S.J., Fisher, C., Jones, R.M., Maniccia, D.M., Doyle, J., Treuth, M., Neatherlin, J., Thomas, E., & Barrios, L. (2023). Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with mask use and vaccines for COVID-19 prevention at 13 colleges and universities, April 2021. J Am Coll Health, pp. 1-11. United States. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2122719

  • Stoutenberg, M., Lewis, L.K., Jones, R.M., Portacio, F., Vidot, D.C., & Kornfeld, J. (2023). Assessing the current and desired levels of training and applied experiences in chronic disease prevention of students during medical school. BMC Med Educ, 23(1), p. 54. England. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04044-3

  • Snead, R., Dumenci, L., & Jones, R.M. (2022). A latent class analysis of cognitive decline in US adults, BRFSS 2015-2020. BMC Public Health, 22(1), p. 1560. England. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14001-2

  • Gareca, M.P., Stanton, J., Grosse, H., & Jones, R.M. (2022). A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF HEALTH-RELATED AND EMOTIONAL CONCERNS AMONG PEOPLE EXPOSED TO PFAS-CONTAMINATED WATER. ANNALS of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, 56(SUPP 1), pp. S99-S99. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/

  • Casola, A.R., Matson, P.A., & Jones, R.M. (2022). Association between relationship characteristics, sexual health attitudes, and dual contraceptive use among young adult college students aged 18-24. J Am Coll Health, 70(1), pp. 314-324. United States. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1751172

  • Paliwal, Y., Jones, R.M., Moczygemba, L.R., Gendron, T.L., Nadpara, P.A., Parab, P., & Slattum, P.W. (2021). Over-the-counter medication use in residents of senior living communities: A survey study. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003), 61(6), pp. 736-744. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2021.05.023

  • Blackman, E.L., Ragin, C., & Jones, R.M. (2021). Colorectal Cancer Screening Prevalence and Adherence for the Cancer Prevention Project of Philadelphia (CAP3) Participants Who Self-Identify as Black. Front Oncol, 11, p. 690718. Switzerland. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.690718

  • Tabriz, A.A., Fleming, P.J., Shin, Y., Resnicow, K., Jones, R.M., Flocke, S.A., Shires, D.A., Hawley, S.T., Willens, D., & Lafata, J.E. (2019). Challenges and opportunities using online portals to recruit diverse patients to behavioral trials. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 26(12), pp. 1637-1644. England. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz157

  • Wheeler, D.C., Raman, S., Jones, R.M., Schootman, M., & Nelson, E.J. (2019). Bayesian deprivation index models for explaining variation in elevated blood lead levels among children in Maryland. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol, 30, p. 100286. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.sste.2019.100286

  • Paliwal, Y., Gendron, T.L., Jones, R.M., Moczygemba, L., Nadpara, P.A., & Slattum, P.W. (2019). A qualitative study to understand over-the-counter medication use and decision-making among residents of senior-living communities. Res Social Adm Pharm, 15(6), pp. 730-737. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.09.004

  • Piperato, S.M. & Jones, R.M. (2019). ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SEXUAL ABUSE DURING CHILDHOOD AND COLONOSCOPY ADHERENCE AMONG US ADULTS. ANNALS of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, 53, pp. S714-S714. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/

  • Wheeler, D.C., Jones, R.M., Schootman, M., & Nelson, E.J. (2019). Explaining variation in elevated blood lead levels among children in Minnesota using neighborhood socioeconomic variables. Sci Total Environ, 650(Pt 1), pp. 970-977. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.088

  • Pakyz, A.L., Kohinke, R., Opper, P., Hohmann, S.F., Jones, R.M., & Nadpara, P. (2019). High-risk medication use for Clostridium difficile infection among hospitalized patients with cancer. Am J Infect Control, 47(2), pp. 217-219. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2018.07.016

  • Dyer, K.E., Shires, D.A., Flocke, S.A., Hawley, S.T., Jones, R.M., Resnicow, K., Shin, Y., & Lafata, J.E. (2019). Patient-Reported Needs Following a Referral for Colorectal Cancer Screening. Am J Prev Med, 56(2), pp. 271-280. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.08.017

  • Lafata, J.E., Shin, Y., Flocke, S.A., Hawley, S.T., Jones, R.M., Resnicow, K., Schreiber, M., Shires, D.A., & Tu, S. (2019). Randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of offering postvisit decision support and assistance in obtaining physician-recommended colorectal cancer screening: the e-assist: Colon Health study-a protocol study. BMJ Open, 9(1), p. e023986. England. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023986