Contact us
401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606-13490
(813) 253-3333
Meet Shanda
Assistant Professor, Health Sciences and Human Performance
Education
2010 Howard University, B.S.Ìý
2012 Meharry Medical College, MSPH
2023 University of South Florida, Ph.D.
Courses Taught
Principles of Epidemiology in Exercise and Public Health
Health Policy and Social Change
Career Specialties
Shanda Vereen's academic public health interests include community and family health and mixed methods concepts.
Professional and Community Activities
Vereen's public health research interests include maternal and child health and sexual and reproductive health. Her current projects focus on the assessment of sexual risk communication between African-American fathers and their 13-17-year-old adolescents, understanding father involvement within African-American families in Hillsborough County, and collaborating with Early Learning Coalitions across the state of Florida to evaluate their capacity to implement an infant mental health sub-grant. Within her research, Vereen utilizes mixed methods and community-engaged approaches to address disparities and increase equitable access to community resources and services. Her most recent publications focus on promoting breastfeeding initiation and duration in women of color and the inclusion of fathers within perinatal and early childhood home visiting programs. Vereen is involved with the Black Infant and Maternal Mortality Taskforce of Hillsborough County, where she works with other task force members to develop resources to reduce racial/ethnic infant and maternal mortality disparities in Hillsborough County. Vereen is also a member of the American Public Health Association and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.
Honors and Awards
2021- McKnight Dissertation Fellowship
2020-Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education, Science, and Practice Leadership Scholar
2020- Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Teaching Assistant