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

Dr. Hopper first began teaching in the Public Health Sciences Department as a part-time adjunct in 2016. 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 and his Master of Public Health degree from East Carolina University in 2013.

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. 

His dissertation research explored the impacts of father engagement on early childhood obesity in a national sample of US families. Dr. Hopper established and co-directors a faculty and student-led Charlotte MCH Workgroup along with Dr. Alicia Dahl. 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 2101 – Healthy Lifestyles
  • HLTH 3104 – Research and Statistics in Health
  • HLTH 3106 – Determinants of Health
  • HAHS 1101 – Prospect for Success

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

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

Service

  • Founder & Faculty Advisor (First Gen Niners)
  • PHS Communications Committee
  • BSPH Program Committee
  • MPH Program Committee

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

  • 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
  • Ezeani, A, Boggan, B, Hopper, LN, Herren, OM, & Agurs-Collins, T. (2023). Associations between cancer risk perceptions, self-efficacy, and health behaviors by BMI category and race and ethnicity. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. DOI: 10.1007/s12529-023-10225-7
  • 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. 
  • Bowling J, Hopper LN, Cantu-Backhaus Z, Williams C, Butler K, & Yount L. (2020). “A beacon of the community we stand in”: Standardizing peer sex education at higher education institutions in the South. Sex Education. DOI: 10.1080/14681811.2020.1807315
  • Parry K, Tully KP, Hopper LN, Schildkamp, P, Labbok, M. (2018) “Evaluation of Ready,
    Set, BABY: a prenatal breastfeeding education and counseling approach.” Birth DOI: 10.1111/birt.12393
  • Hopper LN, Blackman KF, Barnes K, Page RA., Rivera AI., Gizlice Z., Carter-Edwards, L. (2017). “Seeds of HOPE: Dissemination of a Weight-Loss and Empowerment Intervention” NCMJ 78(4): 230-236

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