PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor, Nursing
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Area of Interest
Dr. Rachel Hirschey is an oncology nurse scientist with expertise in behavioral science, intervention design, community participatory research, mixed methods, and implementation science. Her work focuses on developing, implementing, and scaling evidence-based interventions to improve cancer prevention and survivorship outcomes, with particular emphasis on physical activity, cancer screening, and translating research into community and public health settings.
She is a Multiple Principal Investigator on nationally funded initiatives supported by the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including Scaling What Works (SWW-IMPACTS), the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN), and the Consortium for Cancer Implementation Science (CCIS).
Awards and Honors
- NC Minority Prostate Cancer Awareness Action Team, Dudley E. Flood Distinguished Service Award, 2024
- Harvard Advanced Workshop on Research Skills in Oncology, 2024
- Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2023
- MD Anderson Superpowers Project Mentoring Program, 2023
- Harvard Workshop on Research Methods in Supportive Oncology, 2023
- UNC School of Nursing Excellence in PhD Mentoring Nominee, 2022, 2023, 2024
News and Stories
Cancer center researchers to present latest findings at international breast cancer meeting
The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium features presentations outlining basic, translational, clinical and community-based study findings focused on advancing the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
Hirschey awarded NIH career development grant to study approaches for improving outcomes for African American colon cancer patients
Rachel Hirschey, PhD, RN, will use the grant to create a behavioral intervention to increase physical activity among African Americans being treated for colorectal cancer.
