Anita Kinney, PhD, RN, is co-leader of the Cancer Control and Population Science Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute and an associate professor in the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is an epidemiologist with a clinical background as a nurse practitioner.

In her research, she applies a combination of epidemiology, behavioral science, and clinical perspectives to study cancer-related issues. Her overarching research focus is to understand variation in health outcomes and attitudes, and to use this information to develop effective interventions that facilitate informed decision making and positive changes in health behaviors. Kinney is particularly interested in studying these issues in socially and geographically underserved populations.

Kinney earned her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania followed by a PhD degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas. Following a National Cancer Institute-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in cancer control and epidemiology at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she joined the University of Utah faculty in 1998. She has been an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute since 2000.