Perez, Samara

Dr. Samara Perez is a clinician-scientist and early career researcher with expertise and training in clinical and heath psychology. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is an Associate Investigator at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). She has carried out many Canada-wide studies on HPV vaccine decision-making and more recently, on cervical cancer screening. She has expanded to work on the development, evaluation and implementation of interventions to increase HPV vaccination uptake and encourage other preventive health behaviours e.g., COVID-19 vaccination. More specifically, her research applies the Precaution Adoption Process Model, a stage-based theory of change to measure behavioural intentions and encourage HPV vaccine uptake, cancer screening and preventive behaviours, as well as sexual and reproductive health. Her current research interest focuses on applying implementation science principles to improve cancer prevention and control both within Canada and globally.

From a clinical perspective, she is a staff psychologist at Psychosocial Oncology Program, Supportive Care Services, at the Cedar Cancer Center at the MUHC. She has trained and worked in both the hospital and community settings and possess significant experience and certification in psychotherapy practice.  She specializes in the assessment and psychotherapy treatment from diagnosis to palliative care for cancer patients and their caregivers.  She also has extensive training in Sex & Couple therapy. She serves as the Research, Evaluation, and Policy Affairs Officer and a Board Member of HPV Global Action, a registered charity whose mission is to educate the Canadian public regarding HPV-related illness and sexual health practices. She is passionate about the intersection between behavioural health sciences and its relationship with evidence-based public health policy.