Nancy Tess Boley Cruz, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine
Community Health Promotion Concentration
Core Courses
Prof. Tess Cruz
-Teaches PM 501: Foundations in Health Education and Promotion and sometimes PM 526: Communications in Public Health
-CHP faculty mentor
-CHP Concentration Director
Tess Boley Cruz, PhD, MPH, CHES, is a clinical associate professor in preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. For the past 20 years, she has been involved in research projects and teaching at the master’s and undergraduate levels in health education, communications and health disparities. She serves as the co-principal investigator of the Tobacco Education and Material Lab (TEAM Lab), providing special expertise on materials development and evaluation. She served as the first director of the new Master of Public Health Program (MPH) at USC and currently serves as director of the Health Communications Track in the MPH program.
Dr. Cruz provides the core MPH course on health promotion theory, and a course on public health communications with an emphasis on tailoring strategies and materials to help priority populations. In her undergraduate teaching, her courses have included a focus on race and gender issues in public health and on adolescent health. Her research focuses on health communications, disparities, and tobacco control, with projects on countering tobacco marketing, and reducing menthol smoking among African-Americans.