Marcia E. Herman-Giddens, DrPH

About

Marcia E. Herman-Giddens, PA, MPH, DrPH, adjunct professor of maternal and child health, has been a teacher, researcher, child advocate and adviser for almost 40 years, of which 16 included the practice of pediatrics as well as serving on the faculty at Duke University Medical Center.

She specializes in child abuse, pubertal development, and tick-borne infections. She is best known for her studies on child abuse homicides which led to new laws, and her landmark studies documenting the earlier age of onset of puberty in American children. Dr. Herman-Giddens has been a North Carolina resident for over 50 years.

Honors and Awards

Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, various editions (World and USA)
2002-2015

Hall of Fame
2002, Duke University Physician Assistant Program

Appreciation Award for Contributions to Improve the Lives of Children
2001, The North Carolina Pediatric Society

Service Award for Outstanding Indirect Service
1997, North Carolina Association of Public Health, Maternal and Child Health Section

Who’s Who in Science and Engineering
1996

Kimberly Crews Award, for Work in Child Abuse
1996, North Carolina Professional Association on the Abuse of Children

Service Award, for Outstanding Service to the Health of North Carolinians
1994, Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health

Analytic Skills Enhancement Fellowship
1991-1992 and 1993-1994

Sigma Xi
1989, The Scientific Research Society

Alumna of the Year
1987, Duke University Physician Assistant Program

President's Award
1983, North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants

Teaching Interests

Dr. Herman-Giddens is not currently teaching at a regular basis at UNC-Chapel Hill. She continues to teach adult education courses as a volunteer. The topic is usually ticks and tick-borne diseases in North Carolina which disproportionately affect children.

Research Activities

Her current research interests are in the area of tick-borne diseases. She continues to be involved in the review of papers on the growth and development of children, especially those using data collected in her pubertal studies on United States children.

Service Activities

From time to time, Dr. Herman-Giddens consults with groups serving abused children. More frequently, she consults and offers teaching to groups or individual professionals dealing with the current invasion of ticks and increase in tick-borne diseases in North Carolina.

Dr. Herman Giddens serves on advisory boards for grants and studies in her fields of interest. She is a reviewer for numerous national and international medical journals. She gives classes on ticks and tickborne diseases for state organizations, adult education groups, and community organizations.

Key Publications

Secondary Sexual Characteristics and Menses in Young Girls Seen in Office Practice: A Study from the Pediatrics in Office Settings (PROS) Network, American Academy of Pediatrics. Herman-Giddens ME, Slora EJ, Wasserman RC, et al.  (1997). Pediatrics, 99.

Navigating the Recent Papers on Girls’ Puberty in Pediatrics: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here? . Herman-Giddens ME, Kaplowitz PB. Wasserman RC. (2004). Pediatrics, 113.

Secondary Sexual Characteristics in Boys: A Study from the Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network.  Herman-Giddens ME, Steffes J, Harris D, et al. (2012). Pediatrics, 130.

Investigation of a symptomatic tick bite patient confirms Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes scapularis and white-footed mice in Ashe County, North Carolina. Clark KL, Herman-Giddens ME. (2023). Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases. , 23.

Unloose My Heart: A Personal Reckoning with the Twisted Roots of My Southern Family Tree.  Herman-Giddens ME.  (2023). University of Alabama Press.