Education

• PhD, Health Promotion and Behavior, The University of Georgia
• MPH, The University of Georgia
• BS, Health Promotion and Behavior, The University of Georgia

Biography

Dr. Shantesica Gilliam is excited to join Spelman as an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Health Sciences. She is a first-generation college graduate from Conyers, Georgia. Dr. Gilliam is a triple dawg alumna from the University of Georgia where she received her Bachelor’s in Health Promotion and Behavior, Master’s in Public Health, and Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Behavior. At UGA she was a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) doctoral scholar, an inductee of the Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, and an initiate of the Blue Key Honor Society. Her dissertation research focused on examining trauma pathways to HIV risk behavior among Black youth entering adulthood. She is co-leading a qualitative study entitled Reducing Intersectional Stress Experiences to Uplift Pregnant and Postpartum (RISEUPP) Women and Individuals, a project exploring the intersectional stress experiences of Black perinatal women and how those experiences impact their engagement in healthcare.

Her program of research aims to a) provide effective resources and programs for underserved populations that disproportionately experience trauma and violence; b) develop sexual/reproductive health and HIV prevention strategies and programming; c) examine racism as a public health issue; d) bridge the research and practice gap by building community partnerships with those who are already doing the work, and e) conduct advocacy research to understand intersectionality in the maternal and child health setting.

Dr. Gilliam is committed to transformative teaching by applying the foundations of health equity and liberation to the classroom space. This includes centering students’ voices inside and outside the classroom, applying an intersectional approach to developing class content, materials, and activities, and supporting student learning through experience and engagement. She aims to decenter herself in the classroom to create a student-centered space where students can feel seen, heard, and empowered.

Courses Taught

• Race Gender and Medicine
• Research Health Inquires
• Introduction to Epidemiology
• Introduction to Public Health

Research Interests

• Mental Health
• Sexual and Reproductive Health
• Maternal and Child Health
• Violence Exposure
• Mixed-Methods Research

Publications

1. Hunter-Jones, J.J, Gilliam, S.M., Carswell, A.L., and, Hansen, N.B. (2019). Assessing themAcceptability of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Intervention for African-American Women Living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 1-10.

    

2. Sileo, K. M., Kershaw, T. S., Gilliam, S., Taylor, E., Kommajosula, A., & Callands, T. A. (2019).

   Trauma Exposure and Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Pregnant Women in Liberia. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

    

3. Hunter-Jones, J., Gilliam, S., Davis, C., Brown, D., Green, D., Hunter, C., Carswell, A., & Hansen, N. (2020). Process and Outcome Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Intervention for Cisgender and Transgender African American Women Living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS and behavior, 10.1007/s10461-020-03017-7. Advance online publication.
   

    

4. Callands, T.A., Gilliam, S.M., Sileo, K.M., Taylor, E, Hunter-Jones, J.J. & Hansen, N. (2020) Examining the Influence of Trauma Exposure on HIV Sexual Risk Between Men and Women in Post-Conflict Liberia. AIDS Behav (2020). 

    

5. Callands, T.A., Hylick, K, Desrosiers, A, Gilliam, S.M., Taylor, E, Hunter-Jones, J.J. & Hansen, N.  The feasibility and acceptability of Project POWER: A cognitive-behavioral mindfulness-infused group-based mental and sexual health intervention among young pregnant women in Liberia. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2023).