Dr. Ann Coker 2014 Visionary Voice Award Recipient

Congratulations to Dr. Ann Coker for being selected by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center as the annual Visionary Voice Awards recipient.  Dr. Coker is receiving this award, offered in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, to recognize the creativity and hard work she has demonstrated with outstanding advocacy and community work to end or prevent sexual violence. Dr. Coker has made a difference in the lives of thousands of Kentucky women, men, and children and affected the lives of Kentucky citizens for years to come. 

In May 2007, Ann L. Coker, PhD, MPH became the inaugural Verizon Wireless Endowed Chair in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky. She serves as Professor in the College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and jointly in the Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina.  Coker is nationally recognized as an expert on the effect that partner violence has on women’s health.

Dr. Coker has worked tirelessly in the field of women’s health, particularly in areas of intimate partner violence, interventions to reduce the risk of violence that impact both men and women’s health, women’s chronic diseases, and reproductive and sexual health.  She instituted a universal screening protocol in the University of Kentucky’s Obstetrics Clinics in February 2008 and is in the process of evaluating the impact of screening on women and infants. Dr. Coker has also led an evaluation of a new intervention to prevent dating and sexual violence. She is also investigating whether violence against women results in disparities in cancer care for women.

As recipient of this award, Dr. Coker has been honored during the Sexual Assault Awareness Month Declaration Ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort, Ky. followed by a recognition ceremony on the floor of the House and the Senate. 

Congratulations to Dr. Coker on her award!  We especially want to thank her for her invaluable service and efforts to improve the lives of others through her efforts to prevent sexual assault.  

 See UKNOW article at:  http://uknow.uky.edu/content/coker-receives-visionary-voice-award