Sandi Pruitt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Dr. Pruitt joined the faculty of UT Southwestern in March of 2012 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences.  She is a member of the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center. Prior to moving to Dallas, Dr. Pruitt completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Dr. Pruitt’s primary research interests lie at the interface of behavioral science, epidemiology, and health disparities research. Her studies leverage large, linked geospatial databases to better elucidate geographic, socioeconomic, and racial disparities in cancer and to monitor the health of vulnerable populations. Building from discoveries in basic geospatial and multilevel science, her work is designed to guide policies and programs that optimize health for everyone, regardless of their Zip code. For example, the Community Assistance Research initiative (CARE; http://economicsresearch.unt.edu/care), co-directed by Dr. Pruitt, is currently evaluating how neighborhood-based food pantries optimize health of the food insecure in Dallas County.

Undergraduate

Evergreen State College (1998), Liberal Arts

Graduate School

University of Texas Health Sci (2003), Public Health

Graduate School

University of Texas Health Sci (2008), Public Health

• Administrative data research
• Cancer outcomes and disparities
• Cancer prevention and screening
• Food insecurity and health
• Health disparities
• Multilevel modeling, geographic information systems
• Neighborhoods, geography, and health

Featured Publications

Property Values as a Measure of Neighborhoods: An Application of Hedonic Price Theory.

Leonard T, Powell-Wiley TM, Ayers C, Murdoch JC, Yin W, Pruitt SL Epidemiology 2016 Jul 27 4 518-24

Residential racial segregation and mortality among black, white, and Hispanic urban breast cancer patients in Texas, 1995 to 2009.

Pruitt SL, Lee SJ, Tiro JA, Xuan L, Ruiz JM, Inrig S Cancer 2015 Feb

Neighborhood effects in a behavioral randomized controlled trial.

Pruitt SL, Leonard T, Murdoch J, Hughes A, McQueen A, Gupta S Health Place 2014 Nov 30 293-300

Who Is Food Insecure? Implications for Targeted Recruitment and Outreach, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2010.

Pruitt SL, Leonard T, Xuan L, Amory R, Higashi RT, Nguyen OK, Pezzia C, Swales S Prev Chronic Dis 2016 Oct 13 E143

The utility of EMR address histories for assessing neighborhood exposures.

Hughes AE, Pruitt SL Ann Epidemiol 2016 Aug

Multiple Comorbidities and Interest in Research Participation Among Clients of a Nonprofit Food Distribution Site.

Higashi RT, Craddock Lee SJ, Leonard T, Cuate EL, Cole J, Pruitt SL Clin Transl Sci 2015 Aug

Impact of prior cancer on eligibility for lung cancer clinical trials.

Gerber DE, Laccetti AL, Xuan L, Halm EA, Pruitt SL J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2014 Nov 106 11

Geographic disparity, area poverty, and human papillomavirus vaccination.

Pruitt SL, Schootman M Am J Prev Med 2010 May 38 5 525-33

Association of area socioeconomic status and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review.

Pruitt SL, Shim MJ, Mullen PD, Vernon SW, Amick BC Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Oct 18 10 2579-99

• CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research award for First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members
  (2012)