Robin B. Harris is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. She earned a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas at Houston. She is co-PI of the T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Training in Cancer Prevention and Control.

Research Interests

Dr. Harris has extensive experience working with community-based epidemiological studies of chronic diseases, including causes and prevention of cancer. As Co-Director of the Skin Cancer Institute, research priorities coincide with goals of the Skin Cancer Institute: implement an integrated patient registry-tissue bank and develop effective community messages about sun protection and early detection, including programming for Arizona youth. She is a member of the Arizona Melanoma Task Force that identified substantial under-reporting of melanoma in Arizona and continues to implement effective strategies to address this issue.

Dr. Harris also works with multidisciplinary research groups studying cancer screening and risk exposures in Arizona populations. Since 2004, Dr. Harris has been working with a university-community partnership to evaluate cancer screening efforts for Native American men and women and to implement appropriate survey methods for obtaining information for tribes about cancer risk factors and environmental exposures. Dr. Harris was principal investigator of the Hopi Environmental Health Project partnering with the Hopi Tribe to evaluate cumulative environmental exposures of arsenic and PM_2.5. She also was principal investigator for studies of Helicobacter pylori infections for Navajo Nation communities as part of the Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) Partnership.

Teaching Areas

Dr. Harris is no longer advising or mentoring new graduate students.

As a Professor Emeritus, Dr. Harris is currently teaching a Seminar for Epidemiology doctoral students and she continues to serve on graduate committees. Dr. Harris has advised or served on over 55 masters and 38 PhD graduate committees and students. She is or was chair of 25 of these PhD committees.

Selected Publications

Dr. Harris's NCBI bibliography

1. Harris RB, Weissfeld L.  Gender differences in the reliability of reporting angina pectoris. Am J Clinical Epidemiol 1991; 44:1071-1087.
2. Harris RB, Whittemore AS, Itnyre J, and the Collaborative Ovarian Cancer Group. Characteristics relating to ovarian cancer risk:  Collaborative analysis of 12 U.S. case-control studies.  III. Epithelial cancers of low malignant potential in white women. Am J Epidemiol 1992;136:1204-1211.
3. Harris RB, Harris JM, Hultman J, Weingarten S.  Differences in charges for treatment of foot problems between podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons.  Am J Managed Care, 1997;3:1577-1583.
4. Hakim IA,Harris RB. Joint effects of citrus peel use and black tea intake on the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. BMC Dermatology; 1: August 2001. PMCID: PMC45584.
5. Harris RB, Griffith K, Moon TE.  Trends in incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancers in southeastern Arizona, 1985-1996. J Am Acad of Dermatol, 2001; 45: 528-536. PMID: 11568742.
6. Giuliano AR, Harris R, Sedjo RL, Roe D, Baldwin S, Papenfuss MR, Abrahamsen M,    Inserra P, Olvera S, Hatch K. Incidence, prevalence, and clearance of type specific human papillomavirus infections: The Young Women’s Health Study. J Infect Dis 186(4): 462-9, 2002.
7. Harris RB, Alberts DA. Strategies for skin cancer prevention. J Intern Dermatology 2004; 43: 243-251. PMID: 15090005.
8. Harris RB, Foote, JA, Hakim IA, Bronson D, Alberts DS.  Fatty Acid Composition of Red Blood Cell Membranes and Risk of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005; 14(4): 906-912. PMID: 15824162.
9. Nielson CM. Harris RB. Dunne EF. Abrahamsen M. Papenfuss MR. Flores R. Markowitz LE. Giuliano AR. Risk factors for anogenital human papillomavirus infection in men. J Infectious Diseases. 2007;196(8):1137-45.
10. Brown SR, Nuno T, Joshweseoma L,  Begay RC,  Goodluck C, Harris RB.  Impact of a community-based breast cancer screening program on Hopi women. Preventive Medicine.  52(5):390-3, 2011. PMID: 21371495
11. Harris JM, Harris RB. Rampage violence requires new type of research. Am J Public Health. 2012; 102:1054–1057.doi:10.2105
12. Roberge J, O'Rourke MK, Meza-Montenegro MM, Gutiérrez-Millán L, Burgess JL, Harris RB. Binational Arsenic Exposure Survey: Methodology and Exploration of the Relationship between Estimated Arsenic Intake from Drinking Water and Urinary Arsenic Concentrations. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9, 1051-1067; doi:10.3390/ijerph9041051.
13. Davis R, Loescher LJ, Rogers J, Spartonos D, Snyder A, Koch S, Harris RB. Evaluation of project Students are Sun Safe (SASS): A university student-delivered skin cancer prevention program for schools. J Cancer Educ. 30(4):736-42, 2015. PMID: 25417824.
14. Harris RB, Koch SM, Newton C, Silvis NG, Curiel-Lewandroski C, Giancola J, Sagerman P, Alder S, Yee G, Flood TJ. A public health partnership approach: Under-reporting of melanoma in Arizona and strategies for increasing reporting. Pub Hlth Reports. 130: 737-744, Nov-Dec 2015. PMID:26556947. PMCID:PMC4612184. 
15. Batai K, Sanderson PR, Hsu CH, Joshweseoma L, Russell D, Joshweseoma L, Ojeda J, Burhansstipanov L, Brown SR, Ami D, Saboda K, Harris RB. Factors Associated with Cancer Screening Among Hopi Men. J Cancer Educ. 2020 PMID: 33083892. PMCID: PMC8560009.
16. Hadeed SJ, O’Rourke MK, Canales RA, Josweseoma L, Sehongva G, Paukgana M, Gonzalez-Figueroa E, Alshammari M, Burgess JL, Harris RB. Household and behavioral determinants of indoor PM2.5 in a rural solid fuel burning Native American community. Indoor Air. 2021; 31(6): 2008-2019. PMID: 34235761. PMCID: PMC8530885
17. Lashway SG, Harris RB, Farland LV, O’Rourke MK, Dennis LK.. Age and cohort trends of malignant melanoma in the United States. Cancers 13.15 (2021):3866. PMID: 34359766. PMCID: PMC8345588.
18. Harris RB, Brown HE, Begay RL, Sanderson PR, Chief C, Monroy FP, Oren E Helicobacter pylori Prevalence and Risk Factors in Three Rural Indigenous Communities of Northern Arizona. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 797. PMCID: PMC8775467.  
19. Miller DT, Baccam Z, Harris RB. Association of Sun Safety Behaviors and Barriers with Sunburn History in College Students in a Region with High UV Exposure. Curr Oncol 2022 Dec 8;29(12):9671-9680. doi: 10.3390/curroncol29120759. PMID: 36547173. PMCID: PMC9776479.
20. Parra K, Harris RB, Farland LV, Beamer P, Furlong M; Farland LV, Beamer P.  Furlong, M.  Associations of Prenatal Agricultural Farm Work with Fetal Overgrowth and Pregnancy Complications in State of Arizona Birth Records. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 65(8):p 635-642, August 2023. PMCID:PMC10523987.