Shawn F. Dorius

My research practice centers on applied social epidemiology and community health, working at the intersection of population health, community sociology, and translational science. Animating the work is a deliberate focus on closing the 17-year gap between scientific discovery and real-world health impact. I’m keen to engage in faster, more responsive, and impactful science.

I build research and social infrastructure, including data systems, surveillance tools, community engagement models, and decision-support platforms that move insights from the field and lab and into the hands of the people most likely to act on them. I partner with local governments, state agencies, nonprofits, and international health organizations to co-create research that is rigorous, relevant, and responsive.

My team operates through the Public Science Collaborative (PSC), a social innovation lab I co-founded at Iowa State University in 2019. PSC specializes in translational and methods-oriented research, blending computational social science, design thinking, and participatory action research within a team science model.

I have provided expert commentary to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity regarding open access to plant genetic and digital sequence data, and have consulted with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on genomic data sharing, communication on antimicrobial resistance, and rangeland policy.

My training is in social demography (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center). My research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, CDC, SAMHSA, USDA, and state and local public health agencies.

I teach and mentor students and new professionals in community engagement, population health, and social innovation.