Assistant Professor, School of Public and Population Health
Dr. Ellen Schafer earned her Ph.D. (Public Health – Community and Behavioral Health) from the University of Iowa in 2015 and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Maternal and Child Health at the University of South Florida before coming to Boise State University in 2018. Dr. Schafer is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist and received her Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Community Health Education in 2006 from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.
Dr. Schafer teaches health promotion/education and public health classes. Her professional health education experience includes working as a Health and Wellness Specialist with the Greater Southern Tier Board of Cooperative Educational Services through a grant funded by the New York State Tobacco Control Program. She worked with (K-12) school districts in New York State to develop, implement, enforce, and evaluate tobacco-free campus policies and educational initiatives. In addition, Dr. Schafer worked at the University of Mississippi as the Assistant Director of Student Health for Health Promotion, where she directed and implemented all of the health education and promotion activities on campus for students and staff and participated on the advisory board for the University’s Collegiate Recovery Community.
Dr. Schafer’s main research objective is to understand the mechanisms by which social context and social network influences are associated with health behaviors, and she typically applies these factors to studies of infant feeding and care.
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About Ellen J. Schafer, PhD, MPH, MCHES
Dr. Ellen Schafer earned her Ph.D. (Public Health – Community and Behavioral Health) from the University of Iowa in 2015 and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Maternal and Child Health at the University of South Florida before coming to Boise State University in 2018. Dr. Schafer is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist and received her Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Community Health Education in 2006 from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.
Dr. Schafer teaches health promotion/education and public health classes. Her professional health education experience includes working as a Health and Wellness Specialist with the Greater Southern Tier Board of Cooperative Educational Services through a grant funded by the New York State Tobacco Control Program. She worked with (K-12) school districts in New York State to develop, implement, enforce, and evaluate tobacco-free campus policies and educational initiatives. In addition, Dr. Schafer worked at the University of Mississippi as the Assistant Director of Student Health for Health Promotion, where she directed and implemented all of the health education and promotion activities on campus for students and staff and participated on the advisory board for the University’s Collegiate Recovery Community.
Dr. Schafer’s main research objective is to understand the mechanisms by which social context and social network influences are associated with health behaviors, and she typically applies these factors to studies of infant feeding and care.
| 2018 - Present | Assistant Professor, Boise State University ‐ School of Public and Population Health | |
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| 2016 - 2018 | Postdoctoral Fellow, University of South Florida ‐ College of Public Health | |
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| September 2008 - August 2011 | Assistant Director of Student Health for Health Promotion, University of Mississippi | |
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| July 2008 - September 2009 | Health Educator, University of Mississippi | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Grants
| 2022 - 2022 | Idaho Nutrition Data Needs Assessment Project |
| Idaho Department of Health and Welfare | |
| Role: Co-PI | |
| $129,180.00 | |
| 2021 - 2021 | Relatives as Parents Qualitative Needs Assessment: Impact of Substance Misuse on Family and Network Support Systems and Impact of Pandemic on Mental Health and Well-being |
| Office of Drug Policy - State of Idaho | |
| Role: PI | |
| $24,990.00 | |
| 2019 - 2020 | Familial & Community Infant Feeding Social Networks Among Low-Income WIC Mothers |
| Mountain West CTR-IN - 2U54GM104944 | |
| NIGMS | |
| Role: PI | |
| $65,955.00 | |
| 2018 - 2019 | Contextualizing Mothers’ Infant Feeding Environments: A Social Network Approach to Understanding Perspectives of Mothers and Their Network Members |
| College of Health Sciences Dean’s Office and Office of Research - Boise State University | |
| Intramural Pilot Project Program (IP3) | |
| Role: PI | |
| $20,000.00 | |
| 2016 - 2017 | A Collaborative Teaching Strategy for Building Relationships in Maternal and Child Health |
| University of South Florida | |
| Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health Innovative Teaching in MCH Award | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $3,000 | |
| 2016 - 2017 | Infant Feeding Intentions, Attitudes, and Subjective Norms among Adolescents |
| University of South Florida | |
| University of South Florida College of Public Health, Department of Community & Family Health Graduate Student/Post-Doctoral Fellow Research Award | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $967.05 | |
| 2015 - 2015 | Infant Feeding Experiences in Iowa: From Breastfeeding Initiation to Cessation |
| University of Iowa | |
| University of Iowa Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH) | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $5,622 |
Professional Service and Affiliations
| 2016 - Present | Blind peer reviewer, Journal of Human Lactation | 2011 - Present | Conference Abstract Reviewer, American Public Health Association (APHA) | 2006 - Present | Member, American Public Health Association (APHA) | 2006 - Present | Member, Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) | Present | Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | Present | Member, Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health (ATMCH) | Present | Member, Idaho Public Health Association (IPHA) | 2014 - 2014 | 21st Century Student Scholar, Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) |
| 2015 | Ph.D. - Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa ‐ College of Public Health | |
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| 2004 - 2006 | Master of Public Health - Community Health Education, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse | |
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| 2004 | B.S. - Health Education (Certified K-12), Cum laude, Ithaca College | |
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| 2004 | B.A. - Mathematics, Cum laude, Ithaca College | |
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