Faculty Member Appointed Chancellor’s Health Fellow for Public Health

Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., executive vice chancellor for health affairs at The University of Texas System, has appointed R. Sue Day, Ph.D., associate dean for research at The University of Texas School of Public Health, the Chancellor’s Health Fellow for Public Health.

R. Sue Day, Ph.D.



The purpose of the one-year fellowship is to facilitate programs of public health across the UT System and participate on behalf of the UT public health community in developing plans for research in population health in collaboration with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“This unique opportunity to participate in developing a research agenda to address the public health needs of Texans comes at a critical time,” Day said. “The synergy created by bringing together the expertise of the schools of public health and the Texas Department of State Health Services will strengthen partnerships and unify the voice for public health needs in Texas.”

Day, associate professor of epidemiology at the UT School of Public Health, specializes in investigations of nutritional factors associated with chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and obesity. She has worked extensively among minority populations in Texas to develop nutrition programs promoting healthy lifestyles.

Her current research as part of a team at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center includes an epidemiologic study of the dietary and genetic risk factors for pancreatic cancer. The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. She also leads a community-based program, Qué Sabrosa Vida, which is aimed at improving nutrition, physical activity and water consumption behaviors in the Paso del Norte region of Texas, Mexico and southern New Mexico. Day is a researcher in the school’s Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living.

The UT System Office of Health Affairs established the Chancellor’s Health Fellows program in 2004 to maximize improvements in education, research and patient care among the system’s six health campuses.

“Dr. Day is an excellent choice to serve as the Chancellor’s Health Fellow for Public Health,” said Guy Parcel, Ph.D., dean of the UT School of Public Health. “She has led and participated in numerous community-based research projects focused on nutrition and as associate dean for research she understands the important role that public health research plays in development of programs and interventions to promote health and reduce the risk for disease.”

Day is the second faculty member at the UT School of Public Health to be appointed a Chancellor’s Health Fellow for Public Health. Joseph McCormick, M.D., regional dean and James H. Steele Professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus, previously held the position with a focus on wellness.

Day received a bachelor’s in human sciences from Texas Tech University in 1977. She graduated from UT School of Public Health, earning a M.S. degree in human ecology in 1982 and a Ph.D. in epidemiology in 1988. She joined the UT School of Public Health faculty in 1986 and added to that role the appointment of associate dean for research in 2001. She received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Texas Tech University, College of Human Sciences in 2006.