Karen Emmons is an American behavioral scientist who is Professor of Social and Behavioral Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research uses community based approaches to cancer prevention for underserved communities.
Emmons was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. She was a doctoral researcher in clinical psychology at the State University of New York, where she studied smoking cessation. She was an intern in behavioral medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School.
Emmons works on cancer prevention in under-resourced communities. She focuses on risk factors for cancer, such as sun exposure, tobacco and second-hand smoke, nutrition and physical activity. She has advocated for increased policy training amongst implementation scientists to eliminate barriers to implementing evidence-based recommendations (e.g. increased screenings for certain cancers). During the COVID-19 pandemic Emmons worked to raise awareness of inhalation hazards.
Alongside her academic research, Emmons has advocated for women in science at Harvard. She was honored for her efforts at the Alice Hamilton Award lecture in 2020.