Dr. Kendzor is a tenured Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Co-Director of the TSET Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC), and Co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the NCI-Designated Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC). She established and leads the HPRC Tobacco Treatment Research Program (TTRP), which offers free tobacco cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy to the public while 1) collecting data relevant to the process of quitting and 2) facilitating recruitment into ongoing research studies.
Dr. Kendzor earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University and completed her postdoctoral training in cancer prevention and health disparities research at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her published work has focused on tobacco use and cessation, medical cannabis use, cancer prevention and survivorship, mobile health assessment/intervention, and health disparities. She is MPI of the renewable $15.1 million TSET grant which supports the TSET Health Promotion Research Center and PI of the American Cancer Society Cancer Health Equity Research Center (CHERC) which will support research designed to understand and address cancer disparities in prevention and early detection in Oklahoma. Her NCI-funded research has focused on evaluating smoking cessation interventions, with an emphasis on using financial incentives to promote smoking cessation among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults via clinic- and smartphone-based methods. She was just awarded a new NCI grant to evaluate the combination of varenicline and nicotine lozenges, and a smartphone-based medication adherence intervention.
Academic Section(s):
OUFMC Research Division
Education:
Degree-Granting Institutions
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, PhD, 2007, Clinical and Behavioral Psychology
The University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, BA, 2000, Psychology
Postgraduate Training
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Tobacco-Related Health Disparities, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 – 2009
Clinical Psychology Internship, Clinical Psychology, Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2006 – 2007
Clinical/Research Interests:
- Tobacco cessation interventions for socioeconomically disadvantaged and vulnerable populations
- Tobacco-related health disparities
- Financial incentives for behavior change
- Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment/intervention
- Cancer prevention
Funding:
Current Funding *Indicates trainee investigator
Kendzor DE (Principal Investigator), Ahluwalia J (Co-Principal Investigator), Businelle MS (Co-Investigator), Frank-Pearce SG (Co-Investigator), Baranskaya IV (Co-Investigator), Sifat M (Co-Investigator)*, Hébert ET (Co-Investigator).
"Randomized Factorial Trial of Varenicline with Nicotine Lozenges and a Smartphone Medication Adherence Intervention to Promote Smoking Cessation."
Sponsored by National Cancer Institute, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: R01CA298165
Total Direct Costs: $2,229,393
2025 – 2029
Kendzor DE (Principal Investigator), Cohn AM (Co-Principal Investigator), Doescher MP (Co-Principal Investigator), McQuoid JM (Co-Principal Investigator), Neil JM (Co-Principal Investigator).
"Oklahoma Cancer Health Equity Research Center (CHERC)."
Sponsored by American Cancer Society, Non-Profit
Grant/Contract Number: CHERC-24-1160021-01-CHERC
Total Direct Costs: $3,999,646
2025 – 2028
Kendzor DE (Principal Investigator - 30% Effort), Businelle MS (Co-Investigator), Vidrine DJ (Co-Investigator), Pearce-Frank S (Co-Investigator), Alexander AC (Co-Investigator)*, Dallery J (Co-Investigator), Shih YC (Co-Investigator).
"Automated Mobile Contingency Management for Smoking Cessation among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Adults."
Sponsored by National Cancer Institute, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: R01CA251451
Total Direct Costs: $2,240,653
2021 – 2026
Kendzor DE (Co-Principal Investigator), Businelle MS (Co-Principal Investigator).
"TSET Health Promotion Research Center."
Sponsored by Oklahoma TSET, State
Grant/Contract Number: R23-02
Current Funding (Total Cost per Year): $15,100,000
2023 – 2026
Ogunsanya M (Principal Investigator)*, Kendzor DE (Co-Investigator).
"Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Tailored mHealth App Designed to Improve Quality of-Life Outcomes in Prostate Cancer Survivors."
Sponsored by Department of Defense, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: PC230551/13963800
Total Direct Costs: $898,842
2024 – 2027
Froehlich-Grobe K (Principal Investigator), Kendzor DE (Co-Investigator).
"Addressing Tobacco Cessation Among Smokers with Spinal Cord Injury and Their Healthcare Providers."
Sponsored by Craig H. Neilson Foundation, Private
Grant/Contract Number: 1149537
Total Direct Costs: $550,000
2024 – 2027
Mannel RS (Principal Investigator), Kendzor DE (Co-Leader, Cancer Prevention and Control Program - 5% Effort).
"Stephenson Cancer Center – Cancer Center Support Grant."
Sponsored by National Cancer Institute, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: P30CA225520
2019 – 2028
Mentored Grants
Alexander AC (Principal Investigator)*, Kendzor DE (Primary Mentor), Businelle MS (Mentor), Cheney M (Mentor), McNeill LH (Mentor), Cohn AM (Mentor).
"HealthyCells: A Culturally-Tailored Smoking Cessation Smartphone Intervention for African Americans with Adjunctive Treatment for Sedentary Behavior."
Sponsored by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: K01MD015295
Total Direct Costs: $621,735
2021 – 2026
Pope Z* (Co-Principal Investigator), Klinedinst T* (Co-Principal Investigator), Robertson MC* (Co-Principal Investigator), Kendzor DE (Mentor).
"A Digitally Mediated Occupational Therapy Program to Increase Physical Activity in Urban and Rural Breast Cancer Survivors Who Have Undergone Breast-conserving Surgery or Mastectomy."
Sponsored by ACS/OUHSC, The University of Oklahoma (Institutional)
Grant/Contract Number: ACS IRG
Total Direct Costs: $60,000
2024 – 2025
Cruvinel E (Principal Investigator)*, Kendzor DE (Mentor), Richter K (Primary Mentor), Scheuermann T (Mentor), Yi R (Mentor), Gajewski B (Mentor).
"Using Contingency Management to Promote Adherence to Smoking Cessation Treatment Among Hospitalized Smokers."
Sponsored by National Institute on Drug Abuse, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: K01DA055779
Total Direct Costs: $733,639
Additional Information: Dr. Cruvinel is appointed at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
2022 – 2027
Machado N (Principal Investigator), Kendzor DE (Primary Mentor)*, Richter K (Mentor)
"Transforming Quality Metrics to Improve Tobacco Treatment in Medicaid."
Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant, Sponsored by American Cancer Society, Non-Profit
Grant/Contract Number: PF-24-1198256-01-HOPS
Total Direct Costs: $147,500
2025 – 2027
Completed Funding (Selected)
Kendzor DE (Principal Investigator), Businelle MS (Co-Investigator), Wetter DW (Co-Investigator), Swartz M (Co-Investigator).
"Small Financial Incentives to Promote Smoking Cessation in Safety Net Hospital Patients."
Sponsored by National Cancer Institute, Federal
Grant/Contract Number: R01CA197314
Total Direct Costs: $1,092,514
2015 – 2022
Kendzor DE (Principal Investigator).
"Pathways Between Socioeconomic Status and Behavioral Cancer Risk Factors."
Sponsored by American Cancer Society, Foundation
Grant/Contract Number: MRSGT-10-104-01-CPHPS
Total Direct Costs: $674,840
Additional Information: Mentored Research Scholar Grant
July 2010 – June 2015