Professor
Community Health and Prevention
267.359.6011
ack57@drexel.edu
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Degrees

PhD, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygience and Public Health
BA, American Social History and German Language, Oberlin College

Bio

Dr. Klassen has an accomplished career in public health research and practice, with a wealth of experience in securing federal research grants, and a reputation as being a strong collaborator and mentor. Klassen's public health research has focused on the social determinants of chronic disease disparities, and the implementation and evaluation of individual and contextual interventions to reduce patterns of excess burden. Her methodologic expertise includes GIS-based and spatial analysis, as well as qualitative and mixed methods for social science research.

Klassen serves as a Professor of Community Health and Prevention. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of behavioral health sciences at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a joint appointment in Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Klassen has held funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Defense’s Congressionally Mandated Medical Research Program, American Cancer Society and many other sources. She also directed graduate training programs funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Susan G Komen for the Cure.

Klassen is the author of more than 70 scientific articles and chapters, and currently is co-leading an expert group on mixed methods research for the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research at the NIH. Other scientific service activities include NIH study section memberships, advising Breakthrough Britain on cancer research funding, and serving on the international steering committee for the 2007 Global Breast Cancer Conference in Seoul, Korea.

Klassen was also appointed to Maryland’s HPV Vaccine Policy Taskforce and Prostate Cancer Medical Advisory Committee, and chairs the Cervical Cancer Chapter of Maryland’s CDC-funded Comprehensive Cancer Plan.

Klassen received her bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in history and German, and her PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Research Interests

• Cancer
• Community Based Participatory Research
• Data Analysis Methods
• GIS-based and spatial analysis
• Environmental Exposures
• Global Health
• Immigrant Health
• Health Communication
• Health Disparities
• Health Policy
• Maternal and Child Health
• Substance Abuse
• Nutrition
• Sexual Health
• Urban Health
• Mixed Methods
• Qualitative Methods
• Excess Burden Intervention

Publications

Klassen AC, Milliron BJ, Reynolds L, Bakhtibekova Z, Mamadraimov S, Bahruddinov M, Shokamolova S, Shuster M, Mukhtar S, Gafurova M, Iskandari M, Majidian R, Job-Johnson B. Formative research to address vaccine hesitancy in Tajikistan. Vaccine. 2021 Jan 21:S0264-410X(21)00049-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.01.033. Online ahead of print.

Klassen AC, Sood S, Summers A, Perera U, Shuster M, Lopez JP, McCord A, Stokes J, White J, Wagner A. From Salt to Stroke-Evaluation of a Media Campaign for Sodium Reduction in Philadelphia. Front Public Health. 2021 Jan 15;8:619261. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.619261.

Weinstein LC, Chilton M, Turchi R, Klassen AC, LaNoue M, Silvero A, Cabassa LJ. 'It's common sense that an individual must eat': Advocating for food justice with people with psychiatric disabilities through photovoice. Health Expect. 2020 Jul 15. doi: 10.1111/hex.13101.

Cohen SA, Greaney ML, Klassen AC. A "Swiss paradox" in the United States? Level of spatial aggregation changes the association between income inequality and morbidity for older Americans. Int J Health Geogr. 2019 Nov 27;18(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s12942-019-0192-x.

Arana E, Carroll-Scott A, Massey PM, Lee NL, Klassen AC, Yudell M. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mammogram Frequency Among Women With Intellectual Disability. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2019 Jun;57(3):177-187. doi: 10.1352/1934-9556-57.3.177.

View Dr. Klassen's full list of publications on PubMed