PublicHealth Focus/Interests:
Dr. Shipp is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, Pediatric Public Health Initiative. She has a PhD in Human Nutrition and is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She completed an NIH funded postdoctoral fellowship funded through Environmental Influences and Child Health Outcomes (ECHO program) during 2020-2022. Under her supplement she received training at MSU, focused on perinatal epidemiology and design of intervention studies. She is engaged in several research projects with the overarching goal of improving maternal and child health equity, specifically breastfeeding-related disparities. Dr. Shipp recently received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health Equity Scholars for Action (2024-2026), where she will evaluate a community-based maternity care model and engage partners to understand prenatal and antenatal initiatives aiming to support families in Flint, Michigan. She is continuing engagement with research projects under the ECHO-2 program. Her research interest with related publications spans diet and nutrition-related health disparities impacting vulnerable populations, food access and food choice in underserved areas, and community nutrition. She has taught undergraduate nutrition/dietetic courses (e.g., Nutrition and Lifecycles, Community Nutrition, and Global Foods and Culture) that specifically cover nutritional requirements spanning across each stage of the lifecycle. She has a strong desire to improve the health and well-being of communities. She is also a board member (previous board chair) of the statewide breastfeeding coalition, Michigan Breastfeeding Network, MIBFN.
Education:
Doctor of Philosophy, Human Nutrition, 2020
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Registered Dietitian, 2021
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Master of Science, Nutritional Science, 2012
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Bachelor of Science, Nutritional Science, 2009
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Public Health Courses Taught:
PH 877: Public Health Nutrition and the Life Stages
PH 865: Vitamins and Minerals: Risks of Public Health
Professional Experience/Expertise:
- Maternal, infant, child health
- Breastfeeding disparities
- Dietary behaviors impacting maternal and child health
- Community nutrition
Professional Activities or Current Research:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health Equity Scholars for Action (Principal Investigator), 2/2024-1/2026
Increasing evidence around Innovative Maternity Care Model in Flint Michigan
NIH-OD, TBA (Co-Investigator), 9/2023-8/2030
Prenatal Exposures and Child Health Outcomes 2: Increasing ECHO Urban and Rural Diversity
Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, MCMCH. (Mentor), 1/2023-12/2023
Collaborative support and training of Birth Equity and Maternal Health Policy Specialist
NIH-OD, 3UH3OD023285-05S1 (Diversity Supplement Recipient) Kerver (PI), 9/2020-8/2022
Understanding Breastfeeding Practices Among ECHO Cohort Participants Before and During/After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Recent Publications, Presentations:
Shipp, G. M., Wosu, A. C., Knapp, E. A., Sauder, K. A., Dabelea, D., Perng, W., ... & Kerver, J. M.(2024). Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI, Breastfeeding, and Child BMI. Pediatrics, 153(1).
M, Shipp GM, Kerver J, Ondersma SJ, Alshaarawy O. Trends in Cocaine Use Among United States Women of Reproductive Age, 2005-2019. Drug and Alcohol Reports. December 31, 2023
Shipp GM. Faculty voice: Cultivating a supportive breastfeeding culture. MSU Today. August 7, 2023. https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2023/faculty-voice-cultivating-a-supportive-breastfeeding-culture-gayle-shipp
Shipp GM, Weatherspoon LJ, Comstock SS, Alexander GL, Gardiner JC, Kerver JM. Understanding the impact of perceived social support for breastfeeding among African American women: Results from the Mama Bear Feasibility Trial. Am J Health Promot. Epub 2022 Nov 4. doi:10.1177/08901171221138275
Shipp GM, Weatherspoon LJ, Comstock SS, Norman GS, Alexander GL, Gardiner JC, Kerver JM. Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Breastfeeding Intensity Among African American Women in the Mama Bear Feasibility Trial. Breastfeeding Medicine. January 2022.
Shipp GM, Weatherspoon LJ, Norman GS, Alexander GL, Kelleher D, Kerver JM. Factors Influencing Breastfeeding Outcomes: Semi-Structured Interviews with African American Women. Maternal and Child Health Journal. October 2021.
Jansen EC, O’Brien LM, Alexander GL, Shipp GM, Norman GS, Brogan-Hartlieb K, Gardiner JC, Kerver JM. Sleep and Diet in Urban Pregnant African American Women. Journal of Health Disparities and Research and Practice. April, 2020.
Earnesty D., Mphwanthe G., Shipp GM., Kelleher D., Plasencia J., Quilliam E., Rifon N., Weatherspoon L. The Association of Parental Views on Dietary Quality and Physical Activity Levels. Health Education Journal. September, 2019.
Shipp GM., Weatherspoon, D., Earnesty, D., Mphwanthe, G., & Weatherspoon, L. Factors Associated with Fruit and Vegetable Purchases of SNAP Recipients Residing in Multi-Person Households within a Food Desert. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 1-12. 2019.
