Stephanie M. DeLong, PhD

About

Stephanie M. DeLong, PhD is an epidemiologist who is working to improve the physical and mental health of adolescents and young adults in eastern and southern Africa and the United States. Her lines of research encompass infectious diseases which can also become chronic (HIV, COVID-19/Long COVID), gender-based violence (GBV), and mental health. Currently, Dr. DeLong is Co-Investigator on the IMPACT Long COVID Longitudinal Study being conducted in collaboration with the UNC COVID Recovery Clinic.

Prior to conducting university-based research, Dr. DeLong worked for 10 years at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, where she served as a surveillance epidemiologist and as the CDC program coordinator for a global capacity and development program called the World Health Organization Global Foodborne Infections Network (WHO GFN).

Honors and Awards

Loan Repayment Program
2023, NIAID

T32 Postdoctoral Fellow - Adolescent and Young Adult HIV Treatment and Prevention
2020-2022, Department of Epidemiology Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

T32 Predoctoral STD/HIV Training Grant Fellow
2017-2018, Department of Epidemiology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

Nominated for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Award for the Advancement of Women
2015, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

United States Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service On the Spot Award
2011, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Teaching Interests

Dr. DeLong co-teaches core injury classes in the Department of Epidemiology which include:

EPID 625: Injury as a Public Health Problem

EPID 626: Violence as a Public Health Problem

Research Activities

- HIV

- Gender-Based Violence

- Mental Health

- COVID-19/Long COVID

Key Publications

Population-based estimates and predictors of child and adolescent linkage to HIV care or death in western Kenya. DeLong SM, Xu Y, Genberg BL, Nyambura M, Goodrich S, Tarus C, Ndege S, Hogan JW, Braitstein P.  (2023).  J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. , 94(4), 281-289.

Understanding motivations and resilience-associated factors to promote timely linkage to HIV care: A qualitative study among people living with HIV in western Kenya. DeLong SM, Kafu C, Wachira J, Knight J, Braitstein P, Operario D, Genberg BL.  (2023). AIDS Care.

Health beliefs and preventive behaviors among adults during the early COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: a latent class analysis. Smail E, Schneider KE, DeLong SM, Willis K, Arrington-Sanders R, Yang C, Alexander KA, Johnson RM.  (2021). Prev Sci.

From HIV to COVID-19: Focusing on and engaging adolescents and young adults during the pandemic. DeLong SM, Denison JA, Yang C, Agwu A, Alexander KA, Kaufman MR, Arrington-Sanders R.  (2020). Am. J. Public Health, 110(11), 1650-1652.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Physical Intimate Partner Violence among Adolescent Girls in Rural South Africa: Findings from HPTN 068. DeLong SM, Powers KA, Pence BW, Maman S, Dunkle KL, Selin A, Twine R, Wagner RG, Gómez-Olivé FX, MacPhail C, Kahn K, Pettifor A.  (2020). J Adolesc Health.

Prevalence and Associations, by Age Group, of IPV Among AGYW in Rural South Africa. Selin A, DeLong SM, Julien A, MacPhail C, Twine R, Hughes JP, Agyei Y, Hamilton EL, Kahn K, Pettifor A.  (2019). SAGE Open.

Starting the Conversation: Are Campus Sexual Assault Policies Related to the Prevalence of Campus Sexual Assault? DeLong SM, Graham LM, Magee EP, Treves-Kagan S, Gray CL, McClay AM, Zarnick SM, Kupper LL, Macy RJ, Ashley OS, Pettifor A, Moracco KE, Martin SL. (2018). J Interpers Violence, 33(2), 3315-3343.

Education