Background

Dr. McCoy received her BS in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas in 1993. She received a BS in Nursing from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, in 2001, and she received a master’s degree in nursing with a focus on adult nurse practitioner from the University of Vermont in 2010. In 2022, she received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Following her doctorate education, Dr. McCoy received additional training in cardiovascular health disparities and community-based participatory research as a National Institute of Health T32 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. 

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Research

• Health behavior change (dietary)
• Hypertension outcomes
• Food insecurity
• Social determinants of health
• Community-based participatory research
• Health disparities

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Dissemination

Dr. McCoy has presented at national meetings, some of which include the American Heart Association Hypertension Scientific Sessions and the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.  

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Professional Service

• Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
• American Heart Association
• American Public Health Association
• American Nurses Association
• Southern Nursing Research Society

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Professional Practice

Dr. McCoy has practiced as an RN in med-surg, trauma, orthopedics, and cardiovascular for 8 years and as a nurse practitioner in internal medicine and college student health for 13 years. 

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Publications (selected)

Lalika, M., McCoy, C. R., Jones, C., Bancos, I., Cooper, L. A., Hayes, S. N., Johnson, M. P., Kullo, I. J., Kumbamu, A., Noseworthy, P. A., Patten, C. A., Singh, R., Wi, C. I., & Brewer, L. C. (2024). Rationale, design, and participant characteristics of the FAITH! Heart Health+ study: An exploration of the influence of the social determinants of health, stress, and structural racism on African American cardiovascular health. Contemporary clinical trials, 143, 107600. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2024.107600

McCoy, CR. The Experiences of Personal or Community Garden Use in the Self-Management of Hypertension Among African American Males. 2022 PhD dissertation. University of Tennessee. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/7705

James, K., Hawley, B., McCoy, C.R., & Lindley, L.C. (2021). Challenges and opportunities of providing pediatric funeral services: A national survey of funeral professionals. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, epub.