Brianna Sheppard, PhD

Director, WV Area Health Education Centers

Organization:

West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

Department:

Institute for Community and Rural Health

Classification:

Admin

• PhD, East Tennesee State University, 2014
• MA, East Tennesee State University, 2008
• BS, The University of Virginia's College at Wise, 2006

I am a social scientist, rural health researcher, and program evaluator. My work focuses on workforce recruitment and retention while also increasing access to health services and rural health equity. My background is in psychology (BS, MA, PhD), with specific training and experience in translational research methods: design, evaluation, statistical and qualitative techniques applied to identifying/evaluating factors that affect health in rural and underserved populations. I'm involved in statewide efforts to recruit and retain healthcare providers while simultaneously increasing access to quality care in WV and Appalachia, working with rural health stakeholders at state, regional, and national levels including students, providers, community members, and governing bodies. I have served as a PI, co-Investigator, and key personnel on several state and federally funded grants and contracts that focus on improving the health of West Virginians and residents of rural and underserved communities across the country. I am currently Director and Principal Investigator for the WV Area Health Education Centers Program; I served as the statewide program evaluator from 2017 to 2021 and have supported the WV AHEC Program through multiple roles since I started my professional career in 2015 including my roles as co-director of community engagement and outreach for the WV Clinical and Translational Science Institute and assistant director for the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health and associate director for the WVU Health Affairs Institute.