Audra Gollenberg

Audra Gollenberg is the Department Chair and Professor of Public Health at Shenandoah University, employed since 2010. She leads the Public Health program within the Arts & Sciences School, focusing on reproductive epidemiology, health disparities, and community engagement. Her work integrates collaborative research with students and addresses local Winchester community health needs.

Dr. Gollenberg holds a B.S. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Her research emphasizes preconception health optimization for couples, reproductive lifespan health, and interventions to reduce health inequities among marginalized groups.

Professional highlights include global experiential learning trips to Belize and the Dominican Republic with students, fostering cultural awareness through service projects. She has led studies involving over 350 local women to identify barriers to preconception health, aiming to improve maternal and child outcomes. Her work bridges academic research with real-world community impact, often incorporating student involvement in data collection and analysis.

Dr. Gollenberg’s academic contributions span over 20 years, with publications addressing topics like music therapy in healthcare settings, opioid misuse prevention, and environmental health impacts. She emphasizes collaborative, community-focused research as central to her teaching and scholarly mission.