Dr. Perry is an Assistant Professor at Tulane School of Medicine in the Center for Health Outcomes, Implementation, and Community-Engaged Science (CHOICES). She earned a PhD in Health Psychology at Tulane University and completed an NCI-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Behavioral and Psychosocial Research for Cancer Prevention and Control.
Dr. Perry conducts translational research that draws upon theories and methods from psychology and behavioral science to improve the prevention and management of cancer and other chronic illnesses. She is particularly interested in personality and individual differences underlying healthcare utilization and health outcomes, measurement of patient-reported outcomes, and leveraging these areas of research to design and implement behavioral interventions that can facilitate the delivery of high-quality, equitable, and patient-centered care. Some of her key contributions to the field of oncology have included (1) uncovering racial, socioeconomic, and geographic health disparities in the quality of life and care experienced by patients with cancer in Louisiana, Illinois, and other areas of the U.S., (2) developing and psychometrically validating the Palliative Care Attitudes Scale (PCAS-9), capturing individual differences related to potential barriers in patient uptake of palliative care, and (3) designing and demonstrating the potential efficacy of a novel personality feedback intervention to improve cancer self-management. Currently, Dr. Perry is co-leading multiple digital health initiatives that utilize principles of behavioral economics, motivation, and gamification to improve patient adherence to routine preventive health services (e.g., cancer screening, COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots) and remote monitoring services for blood pressure, medication, sleep, and patient-reported outcomes.
