Kaitlin Piper

Dr. Kaitlin Piper is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. She is Associate Director of the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory (IPRCE) and a Co-Investigator with the Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Nationally, she holds leadership roles in correctional healthcare as part of the Cross-Center Collaboration on the Health of Justice-Involved Women and Children, the Academic Consortium for Criminal Justice and Health, and the Collaborative Justice-Involved Research and Training Program.

Her federally- and foundation-funded research portfolio centers on expanding access to behavioral health care for families affected by the criminal legal system, advancing the decriminalization of mental health conditions, and examining how laws and legal systems shape the health of marginalized communities. Her work is grounded in a commitment to transforming how institutions respond to behavioral health needs, moving away from punitive approaches and toward evidence-based, health-promoting solutions.  

An implementation and dissemination science methodologist, Dr. Piper works locally, nationally, and globally to ensure research evidence translates into real-world impact. She leads implementation science trainings for community-based organizations across the United States and builds international capacity through NIH D43 training programs. At Emory, she teaches in the DrPH program, guiding doctoral students in applying implementation science theories, models, and frameworks to advance public health research and practice.

She holds a BS in Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh and both an MPH and PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Emory University. She completed postdoctoral fellowship in Implementation and Dissemination Sciences at Northwestern University.

Awards:

2025                  Awardee, APHA Catherine Barber Research Award

2025                  Finalist, Poster Competition, Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference

2024                  Selected Contributor, “Moving Beyond Deaths of Despair” Competitive Call, Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) Journal of the Social Sciences

2021-2023         Fellow, NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) 

2021-2023         Fellow, Lifespan/Brown University Criminal Justice Research Training (CJRT) Program

2018-2023         Fellow, Laney Graduate School Doctoral Fellowship

2023                  Scholarship Recipient, Academic & Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health (ACCJH)

2022                  Awardee, Livingston Award for Outstanding Doctoral Achievements     

2020-2021         Fellow, Center for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, Emory University 

2020                  Scholarship Recipient, Configurational Comparative Methods Intensive Scholarship

2018                  Awardee, Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE) Award

2015                  Fellow, Honors College Health Sciences Research Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh 

2015                  Awardee, Honors Convocation Outstanding Research Award, University of Pittsburgh

2014-2015         Fellow, Brackenridge Research Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh

2014                  Fellow, Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) Research Fellowship

2013-2014         Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Research Fellowship