Jessica Pope Mitro, PhD, LAT, ATC

Dr. Jessica Mitro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health (GCH). She is passionate about access to and mobilization of knowledge and excited to support our future community, public health, and healthcare professionals. Dr. Mitro aims to provide a respectful and inclusive learning environment that helps students attain the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and professionally. Her research interests include injury and illness prevention, organizational and systems improvement, and quality of life across the lifespan. She uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to include community engagement, participatory methodologies, and community outreach.

Dr. Mitro has several years of teaching, research, and healthcare experience, including teaching and conducting research at George Mason during her doctoral studies, and as an athletic trainer, working in collegiate athletics and providing community outreach services through hospital systems. Prior to joining GCH, she was a Program Manager for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, supporting the Center for Health Services Research at Uniformed Services University.

Research

Select Publications

• Mitro JP, Pomeroy JML, Osman S, Matta V, Cai C, Garfinkel S, Weinstein AA. (2022). Access, Utilization, and Implementation of Research among Rehabilitation Nurses: A Qualitative Study. Rehabilitation Nursing Journal. 47(3):99-108. doi: 10.0197/RNJ. 0000000000000367

• Pope J, Banaag A, Hanson T, Khan M, Koehlmoos TP. (2021). The Mitigation of Racial Disparities in Cervical Cancer Screening Among US Active Duty Military Service Women. Military Medicine. 186(3-4): e373-e378. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaa427 [Epub 11 Nov. 2020]

• Pope J, Helwig K, Morrison S, Estep A, Caswell S, Ambegaonkar J, Cortes N. (2019). Multifactorial Exercise and Dance-Based Interventions are Effective in Reducing Falls Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults:  A Comparison Study. Gait & Posture. 70: 370-375. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.03.030.

Education

• PhD, Education: Kinesiology, George Mason University
• MS, Health and Human Performance: Athletic Training, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• BS, Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech
• BS, Business Management, Virginia Tech