PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty Director, Cancer Information and Population Health Resource
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Epidemiology
Area of Interest
My research experience includes leading and supporting work related to chronic disease observational studies, surveillance systems, and use of large data sets such as administrative claims and medical records. Given this experience my current interests are in the methodology and practical application of insurance claims and electronic health record (EHR) data in cancer epidemiology and health services research.
I am currently the Faculty Director of the Cancer Information & Population Health Resource (CIPHR) within the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. I supervise a diverse staff with expertise in biostatistics, demography, health services research, computer science, and health informatics. The CIPHR team has developed a population science resource that has linked North Carolina state cancer registry data to person-level data from multiple payers, epidemiologic cohort data, and community-level contextual data. Within this framework, I oversee all study design, analytic, and data management aspects of CIPHR projects.
News and Stories

Race and geography linked to different risks of breast cancer treatment delays
A study led by Katherine Reeder-Hayes, MD, MBA, MS, found that Black patients and patients living in certain regions experience greater delays.

Expanded community data project will improve understanding of cancer
UNC Lineberger’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement has begun a major, new data-driven initiative that will comprehensively describe the cancer burden in North Carolina.

Henderson, Rivera awarded $1.5 million lung cancer screening study grant
Louise Henderson, PhD, M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, and a multi-disciplinary team will study comorbidity and functional status in a population undergoing lung cancer screening.

Researchers identify cluster of N.C. counties with higher colorectal cancer death rates
University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have uncovered county-level factors linked to higher colorectal cancer mortality rates in a cluster of counties in northeastern North Carolina. In the journal Cancer Epidemiology, researchers report 10 counties in northeastern North Carolina are part of a cluster of counties with higher rates of colorectal cancer …