Dr. Swartz earned her PhD in behavioral sciences in 2014 from the University of Texas School of Public Health, where she earlier earned a master’s degree in public health with a focus on health promotion/health in 2007. She is also a licensed registered dietitian since 2005. Dr. Swartz’s research program seeks to optimize access to cancer rehabilitation services for pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and survivors. The goal of this work is to identify scalable physical function assessments and develop interventions to improve access to rehabilitation services and improve clinical outcomes—physical and cognitive outcomes—in children and AYAs with cancer. In her line of research, she uses wearables to monitor activity and balance remotely, as well as telehealth tools to conduct objective physical function assessments. In the long term, the goal is to improve short and long-term health-related quality of life, with a specific focus on physical and neurocognitive outcomes.

As a LeaHD Scientist, Dr. Swartz is embedded with UPMC.