Biosketch

Dr. McMillen is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment with the Social Science Research Center and the Department of Psychology. His research applies computer-assisted telephone interview methods as well as Web- and school-based survey methods to measure the social climate surrounding health issues. Since 2000, he has been the project director of the National Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control. This annual survey is a cooperative project with the Social Science Research Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Julius B. Richmond Center. Dr. McMillen also serves as PI for the Surveillance and Evaluation Services grant for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control. His research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute,  the Mississippi State Department of Health, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, the American Cancer Society, North Mississippi Medical Center, and the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. Through the Mississippi Health Policy Research Center, Dr. McMillen has published numerous fact sheets and policy papers that have informed decisions about health risk behaviors and chronic disease in Mississippi. His research has been published in Pediatrics, the Journal of Rural Health, the Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, and Psychological Record. Dr. McMillen also serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of The Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence for Protecting Children from Secondhand Smoke, the Committee Chair of the Environmental Tobacco Smoke Prevention Committee of the Mississippi Tobacco Control Network, and as the Chair of the Tombigbee Asthma Coalition of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Lung Association. In recognition of his research contributions, he was awarded the 2006 Prevention of Cancer in Mississippi Award by the Mississippi Partnership of Comprehensive Cancer Control. He is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and holds a Master of Science degree in experimental psychology from Mississippi State University and a Doctoral degree in social psychology from the University of Georgia.