C. Suzanne Lea

Dr. C. Suzanne Lea is a Professor in the Department of Public Health at East Carolina University, with over 25 years of experience in applied epidemiology and public health practice. She has conducted extensive research on environmental factors influencing cancer risk, health disparities, and technology-driven public health interventions, particularly in urban and rural settings across English and Spanish-speaking populations.

• BA, Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)
• MPH, Yale University School of Public Health (New Haven, CT)
• PhD, University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health (Berkeley, CA)

Her career includes managing field epidemiology for outbreak investigations (anthrax, influenza, SARS, foodborne diseases) in state and local health departments. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, she contributed to surveillance studies in Pitt County. Currently, she focuses on PFAS exposure impacts in North Carolina's Cape Fear River Basin. She served as Past President of the North Carolina Public Health Association (2015-2016) and represents the Epidemiology Section on the American Public Health Association's Governing Council.

Dr. Lea teaches courses including Introduction to Epidemiology, Epidemiology of Cancer, and Professional Paper seminars. Her work bridges clinical practice with community health initiatives, emphasizing data-driven strategies to address public health challenges.