Profile

Nancy E. Avis, Ph.D.

Nancy E. Avis, Ph.D.

Program Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor, Social Sciences & Health Policy
Center for Integrative Medicine
Comprehensive Cancer Center
Translational Science Institute
Translational Science Institute

Contact Information

Academic: 336-716-6974 | Department: 336-716-6974

Email: navis@wakehealth.edu

Education & Training

  • B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1969
  • Ph.D., University of Michigan/Ann Arbor , 1980
  • M.A., University of Illinois-Chicago , 1971
  • M.S., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , 1982
Nancy E. Avis, Ph.D.

Nancy E. Avis, Ph.D.

Program Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor, Social Sciences & Health Policy Center for Integrative Medicine
Comprehensive Cancer Center
Translational Science Institute
Translational Science Institute

Research Interests

aging, health services, research/outc, women's health issues

Contact Information

Academic: 336-716-6974 | Department: 336-716-6974

Email: navis@wakehealth.edu

Recent Publications

Palmer NR, Tooze JA, Turner AR, Xu J, Avis NE. African American prostate cancer survivors' treatment decision-making and quality of life. Patient Educ Couns. 2013;90(1):61-68.

Mishra GD, Anderson D, Schoenaker DA, Adami HO, Avis NE, Brown D, Bruinsma F, Brunner E, Cade JE, Crawford SL, Dobson AJ, Elliott J, Giles GG, Gold EB, Hayashi K, Kuh D, Lee KA, Lee JS, Melby MK, Mizunuma H, Sievert LL, Weiderpass E. InterLACE: A new International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to women's Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease events. Maturitas. 2013;74(3):235-240.

Avis NE, Crawford SL, Bromberger JT, Everson-Rose S, Greendale G, Gold EB. Duration of vasomotor symptoms during the menopausal transition [abstract]. J Womens Health. 2013;22(3):3.

Palmer N, Turner A, Xu J, Avis N. African-American prostate cancer survivors' treatment decision-making and quality of life [abstract]. Psychooncology. 2012;21(Suppl 1):18-19.

di Scalea TL, Matthews KA, Avis NE, Thurston RC, Brown C, Harlow S, Bromberger JT. Role stress, role reward, and mental health in a multiethnic sample of midlife women: results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). J Womens Health. 2012;21(5):481-489.

Sohl SJ, Levine B, Case LD, Avis NE. Trajectories of illness intrusiveness domains following a diagnosis of breast cancer [abstract]. Ann Behav Med. 2012;43(Suppl 1):S76.

Avis NE, Levine B, Naughton MJ, Case DL [sic] [Case LD], Naftalis E, Van Zee KJ. Explaining age-related differences in depression following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012;136(2):581-591.

Avis NE, Green R. The perimenopause and sexual functioning. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2011;38(3):587-594.

Danhauer SC, Legault C, Costantino JP, Avis NE, Rapp S, Coker LH, Terracciano A, Shumaker SA. Affect, depression, and cognition in Cognition in the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (CO-STAR) [abstract]. Gerontologist. 2011;51(Suppl 2):292.

Avis NE, Coeytaux RR. The role of acupuncture in treating menopausal hot flashes [editorial]. Menopause. 2010;17(2):228-230.

Forman MR, Greene SM, Avis NE, Taplin SH, Courtney P, Schad PA, Hesse BW, Winn DM. Bioinformatics: tools to accelerate population science and disease control research. Am J Prev Med. 2010;38(6):646-651.

Greendale GA, Wight RG, Huang M-H, Avis N, Gold EB, Joffe H, Seeman T, Vuge M, Karlamangla AS. Menopause-associated symptoms and cognitive performance: results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Am J Epidemiol. 2010;171(11):1214-1224.

Wierman ME, Nappi RE, Avis N, Davis SR, Labrie F, Rosner W, Shifren JL. Endocrine aspects of women's sexual function. J Sex Med. 2010;7(1 Pt 2):561-585.

Bromberger JT, Schott LL, Kravitz HM, Sowers MF, Avis NE, Gold EB, Randolph JF Jr, Matthews KA. Longitudinal change in reproductive hormones and depressive symptoms across the menopausal transition: results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(6):598-607.

Avis NE, Brockwell S, Randolph JF Jr, Shen S, Cain VS, Ory M, Greendale GA. Longitudinal changes in sexual functioning as women transition through menopause: results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Menopause. 2009;16(3):442-452.

Greendale GA, Huang M-H, Wight RG, Seeman T, Luetters C, Avis NE, Johnston J, Karlamangla AS. Effects of the menopause transition and hormone use on cognitive performance in midlife women. Neurology. 2009;72(21):1850-1857.

Danhauer SC, Crawford SL, Farmer DF, Avis NE. A longitudinal investigation of coping strategies and quality of life among younger women with breast cancer. J Behav Med. 2009;32(4):371-379.

Hess R, Avis N, Chang YF, Thurston R, Bromberger J, Greendale G, Randolph J, Cain V, Dye C, Clark M, et al. Relationship quality is associated with sexual functioning in midlife women: results from the Study of Women'S Health Across the Nation [abstract]. J Sex Med. 2009;6(Suppl 4):370.

Avis NE, Colvin A, Bromberger JT, Hess R, Matthews KA, Ory M, Schocken M. Change in health-related quality of life over the menopausal transition in a multiethnic cohort of middle-aged women: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Menopause. 2009;16(5):860-869.

Hess R, Colvin A, Avis NE, Bromberger JT, Schocken M, Johnston JM, Matthews KA. The impact of hormone therapy on health-related quality of life: longitudinal results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Menopause. 2008;15(3):422-428.


Basen-Engquist K, Ozakinci G, Avis NE. Health behavior change in cancer survivors: current research and future directions [abstract]. Ann Behav Med. 2008;35(Suppl 1):s9.

Avis NE, Deimling GT. Cancer survivorship and aging. Cancer. 2008;113(12 Suppl):3519-3529.

Avis NE, Legault C, Coeytaux RR, Pian-Smith M, Shifren JL, Chen W, Valaskatgis P. A randomized, controlled pilot study of acupuncture treatment for menopausal hot flashes. Menopause. 2008;15(6):1070-1078.

Thurston RC, Bromberger JT, Joffe H, Avis NE, Hess R, Crandall CJ, Chang Y, Green R, Matthews KA. Beyond frequency: who is most bothered by vasomotor symptoms?. Menopause. 2008;15(5):841-847.

Crawford SL, Avis NE, Gold E, Johnston J, Kelsey J, Santoro N, Sowers M, Sternfeld B. Sensitivity and specificity of recalled vasomotor symptoms in a multiethnic cohort. Am J Epidemiol. 2008;168(12):1452-1459.

Avis NE, Pian-Smith MCM. Acupuncture for hot flashes [editorial]. Menopause. 2007;14(1):10-13.

Manuel JC, Burwell SR, Crawford SL, Lawrence RH, Farmer DF, Hege A, Phillips K, Avis NE. Younger women's perceptions of coping with breast cancer. Cancer Nurs. 2007;30(2):85-94.

Luetters C, Huang M-H, Seeman T, Buckwalter G, Meyer PM, Avis NE, Sternfeld B, Johnston JM, Greendale GA. Menopause transition stage and endogenous estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels are not related to cognitive performance: cross-sectional results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). J Womens Health. 2007;16(3):331-344.

Shifren JL, Avis NE. Surgical menopause: effects on psychological well-being and sexuality. Menopause. 2007;14(3):586-591.

Avis NE, Colvin A. Disentangling cultural issues in quality of life data. Menopause. 2007;14(4):708-716.

Bromberger JT, Matthews KA, Schott LL, Brockwell S, Avis NE, Kravitz HM, Everson-Rose SA, Gold EB, Sowers MF, Randolph JF Jr. Depressive symptoms during the menopausal transition: the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). J Affect Disord. 2007;103(1-3):267-272.

Avis NE, Legault C, Coeytaux RR, Pian-Smith M, Shifren JL, Valasgatkis P. Acupuncture treatment for hot flashes [abstract]. Menopause. 2007;14(6):1083.

Thurston RC, Chang Y, Joffe H, Avis N, Bromberger J, Hess R, Crandall C, Green R, Matthews K. Beyond frequency: who is most bothered by vasomotor symptoms? [abstract]. Menopause. 2007;14(6):1106.

Gold EB, Colvin A, Avis N, Bromberger J, Greendale GA, Powell L, Sternfeld B, Matthews K. Longitudinal analysis of the association between vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition: study of women's health across the nation. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(7):1226-1235.

Avis NE, Crawford S. Menopause: recent research findings In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, eds. The baby boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates;2006: 75-109.


Randolph JF Jr, Zheng H, Sowers M, Avis N, Brockwell GA, Greendale GA. Hormonal predictors of sexual desire during the menopausal transition [abstract]. Fertil Steril. 2006;86(Suppl 2):S89.

All Publications

For a listing of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.

For a list of earlier publications, visit the Carpenter Library Publication Search.

Professor, Social Sciences & Health Policy

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