Noel Brewer, PhD

University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health

Dr. Noel Brewer is the Gillings Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of North Carolina in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. He has a PhD in health psychology from Rutgers University.

Dr. Brewer’s research explores why people engage in vaccination and other health behaviors that prevent cancer. He has published over 330 papers on these topics including behaviors related to HPV vaccination, tobacco warnings, and screening tests.  He has been recognized by Clarivate as among the top 1% most cited researchers in the world since 2017.

Dr. Brewer is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. He serves on the Lancet Commission on Vaccine Refusal, Acceptance, and Demand. He advises the World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination. He has advised the President’s Cancer Panel under two presidents and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Dr. Brewer has presented to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine on vaccination four times. He was the inaugural chair of the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable. Dr. Brewer co-edited the FDA’s book, Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User’s Guide.

Media coverage of Dr. Brewer’s research includes the BBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and NPR. He is proudest of the coverage by the Onion.

Over 40 students and 13 post-doctoral researchers have received training in his Health Cognition and Behavior Lab. Many of these trainees have moved on to postdocs and faculty positions at leading institutions.

The Announcement Approach Training developed by Dr. Brewer and colleagues teaches health care providers to communicate more effectively about HPV vaccination and other vaccines for adolescents. Over 1,700 providers and clinical staff in 17 states have received the training. The National Cancer Institute designated it as a Research-Tested Intervention Program, and the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics now recommend use of presumptive announcements when recommending HPV vaccine. Free materials are available at hpvIQ.org.

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