Dr. Amy Otto Joins the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health

Amy Otto, Ph.D., has joined the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences as a research assistant professor in the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health. 

“Dr. Otto joins our department with an impressive background in cancer survivorship that will drive new research opportunities for herself, her fellow colleagues in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and those engaged in research as part of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center,” said David J. Lee, Ph.D., interim chair and professor in the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences.

“I am thrilled to join the team at the Miller School of Medicine, where I see many opportunities to expand my work in cancer survivorship through collaborations with clinicians, researchers, and community partners. I am excited to contribute to the mission and goals of the Department of Public Health Sciences,” Dr. Otto said.

Dr. Otto earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Delaware and completed the Behavioral Oncology Training Program—a National Cancer Institute-supported T32 interdisciplinary training program—at the H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Dr. Otto’s work is primarily in the area of cancer survivorship. Her research focuses on psychosocial factors affecting well-being in cancer patients and their family caregivers, how patients and caregivers communicate with each other, how patients and caregivers interact with providers and the health care system.

The goal of her research is to identify individual, relationship, and provider-or systems-level processes that are associated with psychological distress and health outcomes in patients and caregivers, identifying those most in need of intervention and informing the development of those interventions.

Written by Amanda Torres

Published on November 3, 2020