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Sandra I. ​McCoy, PhD, MPH

Professor in Residence, Epidemiology
  • Faculty Lead, Online MPH Epidemiology & Biostatistics Concentration

Sandra McCoy is a Professor in Residence in the Division of Epidemiology. She studies how social, economic, and cultural forces influence disease transmission and health outcomes. During the past several years, Dr. McCoy has explored these relationships through the lens of HIV infection and reproductive health. Using a diverse array of approaches, her goal is to identify innovative, cost-effective, and scalable interventions to overcome global health challenges.
Phone: (510) 642-0513
Available for advising
Address: 2121 Berkeley Way #5414
Berkeley, CA 94720

Biography

Together with collaborators in the United States, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. McCoy designs, implements, and evaluates new programs and policies to overcome global health challenges, focusing on sexual and reproductive health. She is especially interested in innovative, scalable interventions and implementation models, often using technology, that can positively change health behavior, such as increasing adherence to treatment, bolstering the adoption of modern contraception, or encouraging people to engage in beneficial health screenings. To achieve these goals, Dr. McCoy uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods from epidemiology, impact evaluation, implementation science, behavioral science, and human-centered design. Behavioral interventions developed and/or evaluated by Dr. McCoy’s team are featured in various compendiums of evidence-based best practices, including the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Synthesis Project and the Behavioral Evidence Hub (B-Hub).

Dr. McCoy is committed to training, supporting, and empowering the next generation of public health leaders, locally and globally. This includes teaching PH250A: Introduction to Epidemiologic Methods at Berkeley Public Health, her role as Program Lead of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Concentration in the UC Berkeley Online Master of Public Health (MPH), and through a co-PI role on a NIH D43 Training Grant in Cameroon. She also regularly mentors postdoctoral fellows as part of the Global Health Equity Scholars program.

Research Interests

  • Impact evaluation and implementation science
  • Digital health interventions
  • Behavioral science and human-centered design
  • HIV prevention and care
  • Sexual and reproductive health, especially among adolescents

Education

  • PhD – Epidemiology
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • MPH – Epidemiology
    University of Michigan
  • BA – Molecular and Cell Biology
    University of California, Berkeley

Publications

Courses Taught

    • PH250A / PHW250
    • Epidemiologic Methods

Articles Featuring Sandra McCoy:

September 12, 2024
August 28, 2024
May 16, 2024
April 10, 2024
December 5, 2023
March 7, 2023
October 25, 2022
July 6, 2022
November 17, 2021
September 29, 2021
September 8, 2021
September 4, 2021
March 24, 2021
June 29, 2020
May 30, 2020
May 19, 2020
January 16, 2020