Jennifer Russomanno, DrPH, MPH, CHES

Associate Department Head, Assistant Professor of Practice, and MPH Program Director

Biography

Jennifer Russomanno, DrPH, MPH, CHES is an Assistant Professor of Practice and the MPH Program Director.  Originally from New Jersey, she has called the Knoxville area home since 2009.  She has served in many varied roles throughout her career from film producer and editor in New York City, to corporate meeting planner, to personal trainer, to medical education coordinator.  In addition to her current role at UT, she also co-owns and operates a farm in Jefferson County, TN (2 Chicks and a Farm).  She uses these varied career roles in her teaching by incorporating unique lenses and perspectives to public health issues. In her free time, she loves to do anything outdoors including hiking, camping, biking, boating or playing with her 5 dogs.  She also loves movies and performing arts as well as traveling to new and unique places. 

Curriculum Vitae

Research

Her main body of research consists of examining food inequities among under-represented populations and has explored issues of food insecurity among sexual minority and gender minority people, as well as recipients of Federal food assistance programs.  She is also interested in how local food systems can play a role in alleviating issues of food insecurity within their communities.

Education

She received her BA in Electronic Filmmaking and Digital Video Design from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. After a long break from being a student, she went back to school and received her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from UT-Knoxville in May 2016 with a concentration in Community Health education, and continued on to receive her Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) from UT-Knoxville in 2019 with a cognate in Qualitative Research Methods.  She also received her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification in 2016.

Professional Service

2021 – present             Data Committee Chair, Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council

2020 – present             Member, Building Healthy Communities Committee

2020 – present             Member, Emergency Food Access Task Force for Knoxville/Knox County (COVID-19)

2018 – present             Member, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board

2018 – present             Appointed Member, Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council
(Knox County mayoral appointment)

2012 - present             Member, Continuing Education Advisory Committee, UTGSM

Awards and Recognitions

2018                Knoxville 40 under 40 honoree, Knox.biz

2018                Featured Doctoral Student, UTK Department of Public Health

2017                Co-recipient, 2^nd Place Research Prize, The Role of the Library in Promoting Changes in the Health Care Delivery System through Systematic Assessment, Southern Chapter Medical Library Association

2015, 2020      Recipient, Excellence in Outstanding Commitment and Dedication in Community Service, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine

2015                Student Award Winner (Research Abstract), APHA PHEHP

2015                Student to Watch, University of Tennessee Accolades Magazine

2014                Co-Recipient, Outstanding Live CE Activity Award, Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions

2014                Co-Recipient, Outstanding Outcomes Assessment Activity Award, Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions

2008                Inductee, Fairleigh Dickinson University Athletic Hall of Fame

Publications

1. Russomanno, J., Jabson Tree, J.M. (2021). Exploring Sense of Community at Farmers’ Markets: A Systematic Review. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, in press.
2. Ai, J., Russomanno, J., Smith, S., Wojciechowski, R. (2020).  A Systematic Review and Qualitative Assessment of Fraud Detection Methodologies in Health Care. North American Actuarial Journal, in press. 
3. Patterson, J. G., Russomanno, J., Teferra, A. A., & Tree, J. M. J. (2020). Disparities in food insecurity at the intersection of race and sexual orientation: A population-based study of adult women in the United States. SSM-population health, 12, 100655.
4. Patterson, J.G., Russomanno, J., Jabson Tree, J.M. (2020). Sexual orientation disparities in food insecurity and food assistance resource use in U.S. adult women: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2014. BMC Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09261-9.
5. Russomanno, J., Jabson Tree, J. (2020). Food Insecurity and Food Pantry Use among Transgender and Gender Non-conforming People in the Southeast United States. BMC Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08684-8.
6. Russomanno, J., Patterson, J., Jabson Tree, J. (2019). Social Media Recruitment of Marginalized, Hard-to-Reach Populations: Development of Recruitment and Monitoring Guidelines. Journal of Medical Internet Research Public Health and Surveillance. doi: 10.2196/14886
7. Henderson, E., Paglisotti, T., Jabson, J., Russomanno, J., Blosnich, J. (2019). Housing and Food Stress among Transgender Adults in the United States. Annals of Epidemiology. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2019.08.004
8. Russomanno, J., Patterson, J., Jabson, J. (2019) Food Insecurity among Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Individuals in the Southeast United States: A Qualitative Study. Transgender Health, 4(1), 1-11. DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2018.0024.
9. Oelschlegel, S., Leonard Grabeel, K., Tester, E., Heidel, R.E., Russomanno, J. (2019). Call to Action: Librarians Promoting Health Literacy Assessments in Oral Communication. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 19(2), 129-143.
10. Oelschlegel, S., Leonard Grabeel, K., Tester, E., Heidel, R.E., Russomanno, J. (2018). Librarians Promoting Changes in the Health Care Delivery System through Systematic Assessment. Medical Reference Service Quarterly, 37(2), 142-152.
11. Leonard, K., Oelschlegel, S., Pollard, E., Russomanno, J., Heidel, R.E. (2018). Assessing Print Communication and Technology Attributes of an Academic Medical Center. Health Literacy Research and Practice, 2(1), e26-e34.
12. Leonard, K., Russomanno, J., Oelschlegel, S., Pollard, E., Heidel, R.E. (2018). Computerized vs. Hand-Scored Health Literacy Tools: A comparison of SMOG and flesch-kincaid in printed patient education materials. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 106(1), 38.
13. Russomanno, J, Jabson J. (2016). Farmers market uptake of food assistance programs in East Tennessee. Public Health Nutrition, 19(15), 2829-2837.