SPH Welcomes Shannon Zenk as Division Director of Health Policy and Administration
Meet Dr. Shannon N. Zenk
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Shannon N. Zenk, PhD, MPH, has accepted the position of Division Director, Professor, and Research Professor within the Division of Health Policy and Administration (HPA) at the School of Public Health. Dr. Zenk will also hold a Professor appointment within the UIC College of Nursing.
Dr. Zenk is a health scientist and educator whose work integrates rigorous evidence, education and training, and trust-based collaboration to identify effective policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes that reduce health disparities and improve population health. Prompted by community concerns about access to affordable, healthy food in Detroit, Dr. Zenk conducted one of the first U.S. studies on food deserts and has since built a transdisciplinary, team-science research program examining how social, commercial, and built environments influence health outcomes and disparities—informing and evaluating PSE change.
She spent 14 years on the faculty of the UIC College of Nursing. Most recently, Dr. Zenk served as Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, where she led development and execution of an impact-focused strategic plan grounded in nursing’s holistic perspective, co-launched NIH-wide initiatives including ComPASS and the Social Determinants of Health Research Coordinating Committee, and conducted research as an adjunct investigator at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (2019) and elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2021). Most recently, in recognition of her standing, she will be supported by the UI System’s Distinguished Faculty Recruitment Program, as she commences her role.
Dr. Zenk received her PhD from the Division of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. During her training, her primary mentor was the late Dr. Barbara Israel, a pioneer in community-based participatory research. In addition to her PhD; she also has a master’s in public health from the Division of Community Health Sciences at the UIC SPH, and an MS in Public Health Nursing from the UIC College of Nursing.