Dr. Vanessa Schick is an associate professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health. Her research is driven by the needs of the community with a focus on the health and wellness of historically disenfranchised populations, centering those with experiences of homelessness.
Since earning her doctorate in applied social psychology, Dr. Schick has made many contributions to the field, including co-authoring over 100Â publications. She is a Program Director for GRASSROOTS HEALTH, a CPRIT-funded prevention program designed to bring liver cancer prevention to individuals with experiences of homelessness in Harris County via hepatitis B and C (HBV; HCV) education, testing, HBV vaccination and treatment. In 2022, CPRIT supported an expansion of GRASSROOTS HEALTH to bring liver cancer prevention to veterans with experiences of homelessness and to scale the model to several counties across South Texas (e.g., Bexar County). Still active, GRASSROOTS HEALTH has tested over 1,000 individuals for HBV/HCV and treated dozens with continued potential for expansion.
Dr. Schick is the 2011 recipient of The American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association Developmental Award, the 2013 Outstanding Young Professional Award from the Population, Reproductive and Sexual Health Section of the American Public Health Association, the 2016 Barbara Seaman Emerging Activist in Women’s Health Award, and the 2018 Excellence in Community Service Award from the UTHealth School of Public Health. Dr. Schick is actively involved in local community and national organizations, holding leadership positions and serving on boards devoted to promoting the health and wellbeing of the populations she serves.
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