Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-Bc, FAANP
Dean, College of Nursing
College of Medicine, Department Obstetrics & Gynecology
874 Union Avenue, Room 406A
Memphis, TN 38163
(901) 448-6135
wlikes@uthsc.edu
Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAANP, is Dean of the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center College of Nursing where she leads academic programs, advances nursing
research, and is an internationally recognized expert in the prevention, recognition,
and treatment of HPV-related cancers. The common thread in her work is a commitment
to developing and implementing initiatives that reduce health inequities, improve
health outcomes, and enhance nursing practice.
A native and resident of Shelby County, Tennessee, Dr. Likes attained an associate
degree in nursing from Arkansas State University in 1994. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in nursing from the University of Memphis and three degrees from the UTHSC
College of Nursing – Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Science, and
Doctor of Philosophy in 1999, 2004, and 2009, respectively.
Dr. Likes began her nursing career as a staff nurse at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As she progressed in her career, she began to specialize in diseases of the lower genital tract and is founder and executive director of the Center for HPV and Dysplasia (CHAD) at Regional One Health. Dr. Likes is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease, a member of the American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. A certified family nurse practitioner, Dr. Likes directs CHAD and continues to see patients at St. Jude twice monthly through the St. Jude HIV clinic.
Dr. Likes joined the faculty of the UTHSC College of Nursing in 2005 and has served
as Dean and the Ruth Neil Murry Endowed Chair in Nursing since 2015. She has expanded
academic programs, bolstered research, increased diversity of faculty and students,
and strengthened academic-clinical partnerships. She established the Center for Community
and Global Partnerships to advance the profession of nursing and improve health outcomes,
particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations. Among the Center’s initiatives
are partnerships to address vaccine hesitancy among rural residents, train hospital
staffs to manage aggressive patients, train nurses to care for patients with sickle
cell disease, and develop a nursing research program with St. Jude in Peru.
Dr. Likes is married to Billy Likes, and they are proud parents of two sons, Joshua
and Jacob.