Dr. Sheryl Catz

Biography

Sheryl L. Catz is a Professor and Program Director of the Doctor of Philosophy program at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Her teaching focuses on research methods, and she mentors students while conducting substantial behavioral medicine research. Catz is a clinical psychologist whose interdisciplinary research primarily concentrates on health behavior interfaces. Her areas of research interest include treatment adherence, engagement, remote interventions, and support for health behavior change in chronic conditions, as well as primary and secondary disease prevention. Currently, she leads studies within preventive health behavior contexts concerning infectious diseases, particularly HIV and COVID-19. She is the principal investigator for the Wellness Intervention Smokers HIV (WISH) trial, a randomized controlled trial funded by the National Cancer Institute aimed at evaluating a novel wellness intervention for veterans living with HIV who are either ready to quit smoking or hesitant to do so. Catz also collaborates with students and colleagues on observational studies concerning critical COVID-19 prevention behaviors, such as vaccine acceptance and mask adherence. Prior to joining the School of Nursing, she was an associate scientific investigator at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle and began her academic career as an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin's Center for AIDS Intervention Research after teaching at Marquette University. Catz earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University and has contributed as an author or co-author to over 100 publications in prominent, peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Health Psychology, AIDS Behavior, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Research Interests

Experience