PhD
Professor, Health Behavior
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control
Area of Interest
Noel Brewer, PhD, is a professor of health behavior at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He studies health behaviors that prevent cancer. Brewer’s current work focuses on increasing HPV vaccination, improving tobacco warnings, and encouraging appropriate use of medical screening tests. He chairs the U.S. National HPV Vaccination Roundtable.
Awards and Honors
- Highly Cited Researchers (Top 1%), Web of Science, Clarivate Analytics, 2017, 2018, 2022
- Society of Behavioral Medicine, Citation Award, 2017, 2019
- Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011
- Rutgers University Early Career Alumnus Award for Distinguished Accomplishments and Service, 2010
News and Stories

Cervical cancer screening doubles when under-screened women are mailed testing kits
Jennifer Smith, PhD, MPH, Noel Brewer, PhD, and colleagues report mailing HPV self-collection tests and offering assistance to book in-clinic screening appointments to under-screened, low-income women improved cervical cancer screening nearly two-fold compared to scheduling assistance alone.

UNC Lineberger faculty recognized as world’s most highly cited researchers
Twelve UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center members were named to Clarivate’s 2022 Highly Cited Researchers list.

UNC researchers find FDA Real Cost ads reduce teen openness to vaping
Seth Noar, PhD, and colleagues report in JAMA Network Open that the Food and Drug Administration's Real Cost ads lowered the extent to which teens were open to vaping.

Public health leads researcher to communication advances
Noel Brewer, PhD, has always been fascinated by health behavior. Brewer's research focuses on vaccination, smoking and health screening.