Christopher Owens, PhD, MPH

Biography

Owens (he/him/his) is a health behavior scientist with specific training and expertise in rural LGBTQ health, sexual health, HIV/sexual health implementation science, and mixed-methods. He earned his PhD and MPH in Health Behavior from Indiana University and received training at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, the Rural Center for AIDS Prevention, and the Kinsey Institute. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at the Northwestern University Fienberg School of Medicine. He investigates and intervenes on socioecological factors of HIV/STI prevention, testing, treatment, and healthcare delivery among rural LGBTQ populations, adolescents and young adults, and healthcare providers and other healthcare professionals. This could include intrapersonal factors (e.g., knowledge, attitudes), interpersonal factors (e.g., primary care providers, parents), organizational factors (e.g., clinic infrastructure, clinic policies), and communal factors (e.g., culture, policies). Additionally, he is interested in the mental and behavioral health behaviors and healthcare utilization of rural LGBTQ populations, specifically regarding substance use and depression. He holds two faculty fellowships, one at the John Hopkins Inter-CFAR Implementation Science Fellowship and the other at the Fordham University’s HIV/Drug Abuse Research Ethics Training Institute Fellowship.

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow Northwestern University, Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, 2021
• PhD, Health Behavior Indiana University, School of Public Health-Bloomington, 2020
• MPH, Behavioral, Social and Community Health Indiana University, School of Public Health-Bloomington, 2017
• BA, Sociology and Communications Marian University, 2013

Research Interests

• Rural LGBTQ sexual, mental, and behavioral health
• HIV/STI prevention, testing, and treatment
• Healthcare provider and healthcare professionals delivering HIV/STI evidence-based practices
• Sexual health and HIV implementation science
• Applied health behavior theory research
• Mixed-methods

Awards & Honors

• Awardee - NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research (LRP-HDR, NOT-OD-23-144). 2024 - 2026
• Health Behavior PhD Committee - Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Spring 2024 – Summer 2024
• Associate Editor - Archives of Sexual behavior. Spring 2024 - Present
• Health Behavior Annual/Merit Review Committee Chair - Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Fall 2024 - Present
• Health Behavior Doctoral Preliminary Exam Committee - Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Fall 2023 - Present
• American Public Health Association Abstract Reviewer and Oral Session Moderator - HIV/AIDS Section, Sexual and Reproductive Health Section, American Public Health Association. Spring 2022 - Present
• Consulting Editorial Board - AIDS and Behavior. Fall 2022 - Present
• Fellow - HIV/Drug Abuse Research Ethics Training Institute, Fordham University. 2022 - 2024
• Health Behavior DrPH Prelim Exam Theory Section Reviewer - Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Summer 2023
• Health Behavior Tenure-Track Search Committee - Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. Fall 2022 – Spring 2023
• Pride Mentor - LGBTQ+ Pride Center, Texas A&M University. Fall 2021 – Fall 2023
• MGT Group 19A - Texas A&M University. Spring 2022
• Fellow - Inter-CFAR Fellowship Program in Implementation Science. 2021 - 2022

Teaching Interests

• Health behavior theory
• Human sexuality
• HIV/AIDS as a public health issue
• Health program evaluation

Websites

• Google Scholar Profile
• Scholars@TAMU Profile
• ORCID