Cheryl Knott

Cheryl L. Knott, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health as well as Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2021, she was named an inaugural MPower Professor of the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. She is founding Director of the Community Health Awareness, Messages, and Prevention (CHAMP) research lab and the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal, Translational Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Knott holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine. 

Dr. Knott has a long history of conducting clinical trials to develop and evaluate community-based cancer communication interventions to increase cancer knowledge and screening, with a focus on cancer disparities that impact African Americans. Her more recent research has taken on an implementation science focus (the “Project HEAL” trials), examining intervention implementation, adaptation, and sustainability. She also studies the role of organizational factors in outcomes across the implementation continuum from adoption to sustainability. This research includes the application of implementation science theories and frameworks to community-based cancer control interventions.

Dr. Knott's social epidemiology research examines multi-level influences on cancer control behaviors in African Americans, with an emphasis on neighborhood-level factors. She currently has two multi-year studies that are examining the interplay of neighborhood-level factors and psychosocial resources in this context. Both studies employ a community-engaged approach, and one of the projects is developing a data visualization dashboard that includes a multi-dimensional index of neighborhood structural factors for use in health-related research.

Dr. Knott's research program has generated more than $17 million in extramural support as Principal Investigator, from sources such as the NIH, CDC, and ACS. The program has resulted in more than 170 peer-reviewed publications, with many including students and community members as co-authors.