Biography

Yvonne Owens Ferguson completed a PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education (HBHE), with a certificate in International Development, at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Public Health in 2006. Dr. Ferguson also earned her MPH in the same department in1999 and holds a BS in Biology from Spelman College. Her research examines HIV/AIDS related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among people of African descent in sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. For her dissertation research, Dr. Ferguson conducted a process evaluation to assess nurses’ implementation of an infant feeding counseling protocol delivered to HIV-infected mothers within the context of an HIV/AIDS clinical trial in Lilongwe, Malawi. As a 2002 NIH Minority International Research Training Fellow, Dr. Ferguson conducted HIV/AIDS behavioral research in Cape Town, South Africa. Using Critical Race Theory as a framework, Dr. Ferguson has published research examining the gender ratio imbalance and its relationship to HIV/AIDS risk among African American women at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Ferguson worked on minority women’s health policy issues for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has received awards from the NIH, UNC University Center for International Studies, American Public Health Association and the Society for Public Health Education. Dr. Ferguson’s community-based research experience spans over 10 years and her interests include public health disparities, HIV/AIDS and social theory. Dr. Ferguson will continue to pursue her community-based research interests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill site.