Shawn F. Dorius
Position
- Professor of Sociology & Demography
- Director, Public Science Collaborative
- Dean's Faculty Fellow in the CALS Office of Research and Discovery
- Co-Director, Deans Leadership Program in Food and Agriculture
Shawn Dorius is a social demographer and applied social scientist whose work investigates how community structures, demographic regimes, and socio-ecological contexts influence health behaviors, outcomes, and population risk. Dr. Dorius blends demographic, computational, and participatory methods with civic innovation methods to address health and safety risks in community and rural settings.
At Iowa State University and through the Public Science Collaborative, Dr. Dorius leads research that blends social, ecological, and epidemiologic data to inform public health decisions and community action. His work emphasizes co-production of knowledge with community partners and the use of data systems that strengthen community capacity for health and safety decision-making. Recent initiatives include the development of county-level substance use and overdose surveillance systems, the design of user-centered data tools to support prevention and recovery efforts, and participatory research on social determinants of health in rural settings.
Internationally, Dr. Dorius is building a collaborative research program in community health and civic innovation at the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in eastern Uganda. This One Health research program examines the interplay between demographic change, agricultural practices, and community factors in shaping health and well-being, with a special focus on the burden of disease among subsistence farmers.
He has provided expert commentary to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity regarding open access to plant genetic and digital sequence data, and has consulted with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on genomic data sharing and communication on antimicrobial resistance.
Dr. Dorius’s training is in social demography (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; postdoctoral research, University of Michigan Population Studies Center). His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, CDC, SAMHSA, USDA, and state and local public health agencies.
He teaches and mentors in areas including social demography, population health, community sociology, and social innovation.
At Iowa State University and through the Public Science Collaborative, Dr. Dorius leads research that blends social, ecological, and epidemiologic data to inform public health decisions and community action. His work emphasizes co-production of knowledge with community partners and the use of data systems that strengthen community capacity for health and safety decision-making. Recent initiatives include the development of county-level substance use and overdose surveillance systems, the design of user-centered data tools to support prevention and recovery efforts, and participatory research on social determinants of health in rural settings.
Internationally, Dr. Dorius is building a collaborative research program in community health and civic innovation at the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in eastern Uganda. This One Health research program examines the interplay between demographic change, agricultural practices, and community factors in shaping health and well-being, with a special focus on the burden of disease among subsistence farmers.
He has provided expert commentary to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity regarding open access to plant genetic and digital sequence data, and has consulted with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on genomic data sharing and communication on antimicrobial resistance.
Dr. Dorius’s training is in social demography (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; postdoctoral research, University of Michigan Population Studies Center). His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, CDC, SAMHSA, USDA, and state and local public health agencies.
He teaches and mentors in areas including social demography, population health, community sociology, and social innovation.
Contact
Email
sdorius@iastate.edu
Phone
(515) 294-2299
317C East Hall
510 Farm House Ln.
Ames
,
IA
50011-1054
Social Media and Websites
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 2010-13
- PhD, Sociology & Demography, Pennylvania State University, 2010
- MS, Sociology, Brigham Young University, 2005
- BS, Sociology, Brigham Young University, 1998