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Meet our new faculty: Shelley Facente

  • Published
Shelley N. ​Facente, PhD, MPH
  • Disciplines: Sociology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Research interests: Infectious disease epidemiology; implementation science, especially for hepatitis C and harm reduction–focused interventions; impact evaluation of public health programs, particularly for people who are LGBTQ+, use drugs, and/or are unhoused; measurement of HIV recency; HIV infection dating methodologies
  • Hometown: Gales Ferry, CT
  • Current City: Richmond
  • Hobbies: Reading, cooking, traveling, making stained glass windows, and being a regular platelet donor with the American Red Cross!

In July 2024, Berkeley Public Health welcomed adjunct assistant professor of community health sciences Shelley Facente, PhD, MPH. Dr. Facente received a PhD in epidemiology from UC Berkeley School of Public Health in 2020 and an MPH in 2004; she received her BA in sociology of health from Ithaca College in 2002. We asked her about her work and hopes for the coming academic year.

Where did you live and work before joining the UC Berkeley School of Public Health?

I have lived in the Bay Area since coming to Berkeley for my MPH in 2002! Since 2009, I have been a public health consultant, and still run a 10-person company called Facente Consulting, in addition to my adjunct faculty position at UC Berkeley.

What are you currently working on?

I am a co-investigator on an NIH study looking at ways to optimize continuity of care for people living with HIV once they’re released from jail. I’m also leading an evaluation of the Hellman Foundation’s $21 million investment in clinic-based food security interventions in San Francisco, and working on a feasibility assessment for opening an overdose prevention center in New Haven, CT.

What are your hopes for starting your new position at Berkeley Public Health?

Even though my adjunct position is new, I’ve been teaching the Program Planning course in CHS (PH 205) since 2022, and I look forward to continuing to get to know new cohorts of students each year through that interactive course.

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