Stephanie Wheeler, PhD, MPH, UNC Coordinating Center

Dr. Wheeler is Professor with tenure in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a health services researcher and decision scientist focused on quantifying the social, behavioral, clinical, and organizational factors that affect healthcare access, quality, value and equity.  Her research portfolio, amounting to more than $20million in external funding and over 125 publications, is primarily focused on cancer care delivery, with particular emphasis on improving value, understanding the financial and psychosocial impacts of cancer, and reducing cancer health disparities. Methodologically, she is a resource for simulation modeling and systems science, ‘big data’ linkages and analytics, behavioral intervention studies, mixed methods, and comparative and cost effectiveness research.  Dr. Wheeler is especially knowledgeable and well-versed in using economic, epidemiological, and systems modeling to support better healthcare decisions, and she is adept in analyzing complex datasets, including cancer registry data linked to all payer insurance claims data, epidemiological cohort data, healthcare workforce data, and more. Dr. Wheeler directs the CDC-funded and NCI-funded Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) as PI of the Coordinating Center; co-directs the NCI-funded T32 Cancer Care Quality Training Program (CCQTP); and co-directs the NCI-funded Geographic Management of Cancer Heath Disparities Program (GMaP) Region 1 South.  She was appointed to lead the Community Outreach and Engagement office at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2019.  In 2017, she was awarded the Early Career Award from the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health (ASPPH) and the UNC Hettleman Prize for Scholarly and Artistic Achievement.