Brianna Sheppard , PhD, MA

Dr. Brianna Sheppard is a research associate with extensive experience in behavioral health and translational science approaches applied to rural healthcare research, policy, and practice.

Research Associate

Organization:

West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

Department:

Office of Health Affairs

Classification:

Staff

• PhD, Psychology-Experimental Concentration, East Tennessee State University
• MA, General Psychology, East Tennessee State University
• BS, Psychology, The University of Virginia's College at Wise

In her role with the Office of Health Affairs, Bri will be providing support and leadership as well as conducting relevant research as part of an interdisciplinary team to complete activities associated addressing behavioral health access and substance use disorders. In addition to her role with Health Affairs, Dr. Sheppard is the Co-Director of Community Engagement & Outreach for the WV Clinical and Translational Science Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences. She also serves as Principal Investigator for a Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation award and interim Program Evaluator for the WV Area Health Education Center Program (WV AHEC), both supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Prior to joining the team at the Office of Health Affairs, Bri served as the Assistant Director for the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health where her work centered on rural health disparities research, program administration and evaluation, and community engagement in support of activities for the WV AHEC Program and the WVU Rural Health Initiative via the WV Higher Education Policy Commission. She has more than a decade of research experience with expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Her research portfolio includes several peer-reviewed publications and national presentations and covers diverse topics that emphasize the role of motivation in health-related behaviors, including motivational neurocircuitries and the role of learning in addiction, rural health disparities, behavioral health practice and policy, workforce development, recruitment and retention in rural and underserved areas, drugs of abuse and substance use disorders, social determinants of health, and Appalachian culture. As an Adjunct Professor for the WVU School of Public Health and affiliate faculty for the WV AHEC Program, she teaches courses in behavioral neuroscience, research design, practice transformation, social determinants of health, and community-engaged work with rural communities.