Kyra J. W. Mendez, Ph.D., M.P.H., B.S.N.

Kyra J. W. Mendez, Ph.D., M.P.H., B.S.N., joined the Clinical Genetics Branch (CGB) as a postdoctoral fellow through the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP) in November 2022. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton in 2014, a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, in 2021, and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2022, which she completed as part of the CPFP. Her doctoral dissertation investigated health-related technology use and intention to adopt mobile health (mHealth) apps among family caregivers who have a chronic condition and who care for someone with dementia. In 2024, Dr. Mendez received the DCEG Intramural Research Award and NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence.

In CGB, Dr. Mendez is currently investigating accelerated aging and biomarkers of aging (specifically, telomere length) among people who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, under the mentorship of Shahinaz Gadalla, M.D., Ph.D.