Dr. Shanta Dube is the first director of Wingate University’s new Master of Public Health program. She brings to the program more than two decades of experience, including award-winning work on the landmark CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences Study and on national tobacco surveillance programs.

“Dr. Dube’s contributions to the public health field, in particular within the areas of epidemiology and health promotion, make her a perfect fit for our program,” says Dr. Suzanne Wolf, the director of the Public Health Department. “We’re thrilled to have her as our inaugural MPH faculty member.” Wolf is overseeing the creation of the master’s program, a 42-credit degree offered online, with a focus on health education and promotion.

Dr. Dube, who has developed courses in public-health research methods, introductory epidemiology, program planning and infectious-disease epidemiology at Georgia State University, is ready for the task.

“Building a brand-new MPH program from the ground up will allow me to use my 20-plus years of experience in public health practice, research, and academic instruction to ensure that graduates of the Wingate University Public Health Program receive comprehensive training,” she says. “They’ll be able to apply the knowledge gained to become an integral part of the nation’s public health infrastructure, where they will play an important role in improving health across various settings and sectors.”

After earning bachelor’s degrees in microbiology and music from the University of Maryland, Dube received a master’s in public health in epidemiology from the Milken Institute of Public Health at The George Washington University and her doctoral degree in health promotion and behavior from the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health.

She was awarded a CDC Fellowship in 1999 and served as an early investigator on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Her research from that study gained international acclaim and led to a CDC award for scientific excellence.

For the past seven years, Dube has taught at the Georgia State University School of Public Health. Additionally, she serves as program director for a study-abroad program in India focused on the study of Ayurveda Medicine for trauma healing and well-being, and she continues to give talks and training on the ACE Study, trauma-informed care, and Ayurveda principles.

The author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and reports, Dube is associate editor for the journal Child Abuse & Neglect and serves on the editorial boards for the International Journal of Environmental and Public Health and the Adversity and Resilience Science journal.

She began her role with Wingate on March 15.

The University has submitted a request for approval to offer the Master of Public Health (MPH) program from its institutional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and plans to apply for program accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The MPH program expects to enroll its first class in fall 2021, pending approval by the SACSCOC.