Kelly K Gurka,

Assistant Professor Of Epidemiology

Department: PHHP-COM EPIDEMIOLOGY

Business Phone: (352) 273-5362

Business Email: kgurka@ufl.edu

CV: View Curriculum Vitae

About Kelly K Gurka

Kelly K. Gurka is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. She earned an MPH at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, after which she served as a maternal and child health epidemiologist in the Alabama Department of Public Health. Dr. Gurka then earned her PhD in epidemiology with an emphasis in injury prevention and control at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; she was the recipient of the 2007 Susan P. Baker Student Paper Prize. Dr. Gurka held faculty positions at the University of Virginia and West Virginia University prior to arriving at the University of Florida.

With funding from agencies including NIH, CDC, NIJ, and HRSA, Dr. Gurka has published research on a range of topics including maternal and child health, workplace violence, sport-related injury, and substance abuse. Her current research interests include the consequences of substance misuse and abuse and its outcomes including fatal overdose and neonatal abstinence syndrome, particularly related to opioids. Dr. Gurka is a co-principal investigator of a study examining pregnancy-associated death among Floridian women. She is also co-principal investigator of the COPE Study at the University of Florida, an international, multi-site study examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women. She is an investigator on the Florida-DECADE study, a planning grant for studying the impact of substance use during pregnancy on the development of children, for which she leads community engagement. Dr. Gurka is also an investigator on the Social Development auxillary study to the parent ABCD Study. Dr. Gurka has collaborated on numerous projects with clinical researchers in many of the health sciences including Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pharmacy, and Nursing.

Dr. Gurka has taught epidemiology and injury prevention courses and mentored both professional and graduate students. She serves on the Science committee for the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research and is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the American Evaluation Association.

Accomplishments

ATRN Scholar

2014 · Appalachian Translational Research Network

Excellence in Diversity Fellow

2007 · University of Virginia

Susan P. Baker Student Paper Prize

2007 · Injury Prevention Research Center, UNC-Chapel Hill

Pre-Doctoral Training Fellow

2006-2007 · US Public Health Service

Doris Buffet Scholarship for the Prevention of Violence Against Women

2003 · Doris Buffet Foundation

Pre-Doctoral Training Fellow

2002-2006 · National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Research Profile

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0003-2779-3234

Areas of Interest

Injury Epidemiology
Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology
Substance Use Epidemiology, particularly opioids
Consequences of substance use, including overdose and neonatal abstinence syndrome
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnant women, especially vulnerable populations such as women with SUD
Impact of health policy related to prescribing practices

Publications

2021

Timing of Introduction of Complementary Foods and Beverages to Infants of Low-Income Women.

Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. [DOI] 10.1089/bfm.2020.0352. [PMID] 33781096.

Kelly K Gurka,

Assistant Professor Of Epidemiology

About Kelly K Gurka

Accomplishments

Research Profile

Publications

Grants

Education

Teaching Profile

Contact Details