Melinda S. Forthofer, Ph. D.

Came to USF:
Full-time Faculty:1996 - 2006
Affiliate Faculty: 2006 - present

Contact Information:

    Director, Institute for Families in Society
    University of South Carolina
    1600 Hampton Street, Suite 507
    Columbia, SC 29208
    Phone: 803-777-1527; Fax: 803-777-1120
    URL: http://ifs.sc.edu

    Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor
    College of Social
    DeSaussure College
   University of South Carolina
    URL: http://www.cosw.sc.edu/faculty/forthoferm.html
    E-Mail: mforthof@hsc.usf.edu

Degrees:
B.A. Case Western Reserve University 1992
Ph.D., Health Behavior/Health Education and Sociology (combined degree) University of Michigan 1996

Research Interests:
  Health disparities
  Diffusion of innovation
  Community-Based Prevention Research
  Applied Research Methodology
  Evaluation Research
Social determinants of health

Other Information:
Curriculum Vitae

Melinda (“Lyndie”) Forthofer is an affiliate faculty member at USF. Her primary positions are at the University of South Carolina, where she serves as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Social Work and Director of the Institute for Families in Society, a university-wide interdisciplinary unit that conducts research and advocacy aimed at discovering pathways for reducing disparities, promoting social justice, and accelerating the translation of research into effective, culturally competent policies and practices. At the University of South Carolina, Dr. Forthofer has joint faculty appointments in Social Work and Epidemiology.

Dr. Forthofer earned her BA in Sociology and Gender Studies from Case Western Reserve University in 1992, and her PhD in Health Behavior/Health Education and Sociology from the University of Michigan . Both degrees were from self-designed dual degree programs. While at the University of Michigan , Dr. Forthofer was on the staff of the NIMH-funded National Co-morbidity Study at UM’s Institute for Social Research.

From 1996-2006, Dr. Forthofer was Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Family Health at the University of South Florida College of Public Health. Dr. Forthofer was a Co-Founder of the CDC-funded Florida Prevention Research Center, and she served as Director of the Center’s Research Methods and Evaluation Unit from 1998-2005. Within the FPRC, Dr. Forthofer led the development of a strategic research agenda aimed at continued investigation of the framework’s feasibility and value as well as a thorough examination of mechanisms for enhancing the capacity of community organizations, local and state health departments, and academic researchers to collaborate effectively in such efforts.

At USF, in addition to her work in the Florida Prevention Research Center, Dr. Forthofer was also Principal Investigator of the Florida Health Literacy Study, an evaluation of Pfizer Inc.’s health literacy program for patients with diabetes and/or hypertension in community health clinics in Florida, Director of Evaluation for the CDC-funded four-city demonstration of Friendly Access, a health service delivery model developed by the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, and Director of Evaluation for the HRSA-funded Central Hillsborough Healthy Start Initiative.

Dr. Forthofer’s research interests include social epidemiology, prevention science methodology, and community-based health promotion. Dr. Forthofer’s current program of research is aimed at explicating the mechanisms through which social structure and social context influence health outcomes.

Department of Community and Family Health • USF College of Public Health • 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56 • Tampa, FL 33612
phone (813) 974-4867 • fax (813) 974-5172