Otis (Shaun) Owens, MPH, PhD
Otis (Shaun) Owens, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina
Dr. Otis (Shaun) Owens is an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. He is also the Associate Director for Strategy and Innovation for the SmartHOME Center for Economic Excellence and a core faculty member in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program within the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. His research program aims to achieve health equity for African-Americans, who have the highest prostate and lung cancer mortality rates. His research also focuses on the community-driven development and evaluation of translational, technology-based solutions to help older adults make informed health decisions that will enable them to age in place.
Dr. Owens is currently a co-principal investigator on a grant funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation to evaluate a computer-based decision aid for promoting the uptake of lung cancer screening among high-risk individuals. In addition, Dr. Owens is co-investigator (PI: Levkoff; 5R25AG050484-05) on a grant funded by the National Institute on Aging to establish the South Carolina Advancing Diversity in Aging Research undergraduate program. The program seeks to increase the number of qualified underrepresented racial and ethnic minority students who pursue scientific graduate studies in programs focusing on science and aging. Dr. Owens’ research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Medical Internet and Research and the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
Dr. Owens received his BA in English from Case Western Reserve University (2006), Master of Public Health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health (2008) and a PhD in Health Promotion, Education and Behavior from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health (2014).