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Dr. Hopper at the 2024 Respectful Maternity Care Simulation Event

Lorenzo N. Hopper is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health. The common theme across his degree programs, service, and scholarly interests is optimal health for all. This theme connects his passions for public health with a specific interest in improving maternal, child, and family health (MCH) outcomes and first-gen student wellness. 

He received his PhD in Maternal and Child Health from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gilling’s School of Global Public Health in 2020, his Master of Public Health degree from East Carolina University in 2013, and his BA from UNC in 2010.

Dr. Hopper has served as a part-time adjunct, Lecturer, and MPH Program Director. Dr. Hopper teaches both undergraduate and Master of Public Health graduate courses. Lorenzo’s areas of research interest include fatherhood, men’s health, and the pursuit of health equity. Special populations include children and first-generation students. In 2024, Dr. Hopper was selected as elected as one of 10 early and mid-career public health faculty members to the National Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Workforce Development Center Faculty Development Fellowship Program at Diverse Institutions. He is also a research fellow at The Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy

Dr. Hopper established and co-leads a faculty-led Charlotte MCH Workgroup. The group aims to foster pathways for intersectional collaborations in order to strengthen effective and comprehensive MCH work that benefits the community. He also co-advises SHAPE (Students Helping Advance Preconception Education) preconception peer education program at UNC Charlotte. Email him for more information. 

Education

  • PhD – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Maternal and Child
    Health
  • MPH – East Carolina University, Epidemiology
  • B.A. – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chemistry

Teaching

  • HLTH 6471 – MPH Internship
  • HLTH 6280 – Epidemiology Capstone
  • HLTH 6225 – Health Education and Health Promotion
  • HLTH 6220 – Applied Health Behavior Change
  • HLTH 6211 – Evidence-Based Methods
  • HLTH 6000: Interprofessional Approaches to MCH
  • HLTH 4215: Health Disparities HLTH 2101 – Healthy Lifestyles
  • HLTH 3104 – Research and Statistics in Health
  • HLTH 3106 – Determinants of Health

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

  • Community-based Participatory Research
  • Maternal and Child Health: Father Engagement
  • Men’s Health
  • Student Wellness

Honors/Awards

  • MCH Faculty Fellowship Awardee, 2024
  • 2022 Community Voice Award, presented by Carolina Youth Coalition
  • Faculty Research Grant Awardee, 2022
  • Delta Omega – Beta Phi Chapter Honorary Society in Public Health, 2021
  • Presidential Service Volunteer Award, Bronze, 2020

Selected Publications (CV)

  • Spinner, C., Hopper, L.N., Watson, S., Lewis, J., & Dulin, M. (2025). The association between experiencing racial discrimination and delivery method among women in the United States, PRAMS 2016-2021. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-025-02572-w. 
  • Spinner, C., Hopper, L.N., Watson, S., Lewis, J., & Dulin, M. (2025). A scoping review of risk and protective factors associated with cesarean birth among Black women in the United States. Journal of Health Equity. 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/29944694.2025.2541620.
  • Shears, J. Miller, D., Hopper, L.N., Bolar, C., Perry, A, & Hodges, G. The Experiences and Needs of Atlanta’s Young NPU-V Black Fathers: An Exploratory Study  (accepted – Nov 2024) Child Welfare.
  • Hopper, L.N., Yada, F.N., Lacci-Reilly, K., Butts, S., Abdulkareem, O. (2024) A Picture of Perfect Mental Health: Exploring barriers and facilitators to first-generation college student wellness through photovoice. Journal for First-Generation Student Success, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/26906015.2024.2415091
  • Shears, J. Bolar, C.; Hopper, L.N., Wilbon, M., Miller, D., Rudd, C., Smith, A. (2024) Barriers to and Facilitators of paternal engagement for Black fathers in Fulton County, Georgia. Families in Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894241270255
  • Baxter, S, Hopper, L.N., & Spinner, C. (2024) Correlates of sexual behavior across fatherhood status: Finding from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to Adult Health (Add Health), 2016-2018. American Journal of Men’s Health. 18(2).
    http://doi.org/10.1177/15579883241239770
  • Lacci-Reilly, KR, Brunner Huber, LR, Quinlan, MM, Hutchison, CB, & Hopper, LN. (2023). A review of miscarriage and healthcare communication in the United States. Health communication, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2245205
  • Hopper, LN, Shanahan, M, Vines, A, Daniels, J, Bharathi, Z, Hussey, J. (2021). Fathers and child health behaviors: assessing father engagement, early childhood diet, and screen time in a national sample of US children. HPHR; 36.