GAYLE SHIPP, PhD, RDN, CLS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Dr. Shipp is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She is engaged in several research projects with the overarching goal of improving maternal and child health equity, specifically breastfeeding related disparities. Her research interests also spans diet and nutrition-related health disparities impacting vulnerable populations, food access and food choice in under-served areas, and community nutrition.

Shipp recently completed an NIH funded postdoctoral fellowship funded through Environmental Influences and Child Health Outcomes, ECHO program, 2020-2022. Under her supplement she received training at MSU, focused on perinatal epidemiology and design of intervention studies. She is passionate about reducing breastfeeding disparities, especially within the African American community.

Shipp served as the chair of the statewide breastfeeding coalition (2019-2022) and continues to serve as a board member with Michigan Breastfeeding Network to support breastfeeding families within Michigan.

MIEKA SMART, DrPH DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL EDUCATION AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MSU MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM

Dr. Smart is an epidemiologist and director of the College of Human Medicine Leadership in Medicine for the Under-served certificate program. She also serves the African Studies Center, the Institute for Global Health, and the Master of Public Health Program. She is co-director of the Research to Reduce Disparities in Disease (R2D2) program, an NIH-funded, clinical research training program.

Smart has led and designed experiential education abroad programs in Uganda, South Africa, Belize, and the United States. She does alcohol policy evaluation and monitoring work in Uganda, providing the evidence needed to inform policy interventions, enforcement strategies, and campaigns for compliance uptake. In 2020, she was named a Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research scientist.