Faculty: Dr. Greg Kearney

A temporary job turned into a lifelong passion for public health for Dr. Greg Kearney, an associate professor in East Carolina University’s Department of Public Health in the Brody School of Medicine.

“I fell into public health purely by accident,” said Kearney, who graduated from ECU with a degree in urban and regional planning in 1987. “After graduating from ECU, I needed a job and money so I headed to south Florida and worked as a health inspector at a local health department. I thought it would be temporary, but I got very involved with a children’s cancer cluster in my community and it wound up changing the course of my life and career path.”

Kearney added a master’s and a doctoral degree in public health and worked in local, state and federal government. As an epidemiologist for the state of Florida and later for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta, he gained experience in public health. A native of eastern North Carolina who lived in Rocky Mount and New Bern, among other places, Kearney returned to ECU nine years ago to become part of the fabric of the community and to help teach the next generation of public health leaders.

Dr. Greg Kearney, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health in the Brody School of Medicine, has a passion for his students and the health of eastern North Carolina.

Kearney said those leaders are needed now more than ever.

“Up until the pandemic, I don’t think most people really understood the meaning or importance of public health. That has all changed,” Kearney said. “Like I tell my students, public health all boils down to one word — prevention. All the strategies to avoid COVID-19, such as social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing, vaccines, etc., are all forms of public health. It’s important that we continue to keep our public health students involved and at the forefront of events like the pandemic, so that they can learn and teach others how to avoid illness through prevention.”

As a researcher, Kearney is leading a group using Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding on a COVID-19 surveillance project in the region.

“I am very fortunate to be leading an outstanding interdisciplinary team of ECU professors from geography, health info systems and public health on a data driven public health mapping project with Vidant Medical Center. It’s a very exciting and meaningful project centered around population health surveillance,” Kearney said. “In just a few short months, we have broken new ground in several areas using Vidant patient data. So far, we have been able to detect COVID-19 hotspot areas throughout eastern North Carolina, identify areas for prioritizing vaccine delivery, and develop a cutting edge COVID-19 web portal that will serve as a central data and information hub for health care providers, researchers and the general public.”

Kearney embraces ECU’s motto of servire, or to serve, and he has a particular passion for applied research in health disparities among rural and underserved populations in eastern North Carolina.

“Many of today’s chronic health problems — such as obesity, diabetes and asthma — are tied to what public health folks call the ‘social determinants of health,’” Kearney said. “These are conditions or factors that influence a person’s health but are out of their control; for example, poor living conditions or not having access to nutritious foods.”

Earlier this year, Kearney received the ECU Graduate Faculty Mentor Award from the Graduate School.

“As a professor and an ECU alumnus, that was very special to me,” he said. “… The leadership and the people that work in the graduate school are the best. They are always accessible, friendly and willing to help program directors and students. They have always provided clear, concise communication and ensure follow-up.”

Kearney relishes the relationships he has with his students.

“I have been very fortunate that many of my grad students have gone on to have successful careers in public health,” he said. “Several of my students are like family, and after graduation, we continue to stay in touch with each other.”

That’s just one of the reasons he enjoys his work.

“I simply love the region and the people of eastern North Carolina,” he said. “And I love ECU.

Last thing I watched on TV: It’s rare that I watch TV, unless to catch the news. However, over the summer, I watched a lot of old Simpsons episodes with my son, Tanner, who is a big fan.

First job: My actual first paid job was picking or priming tobacco during the summer months in Rocky Mount. In those days, the pay was pretty good for a teenager, but looking back that was the hardest and the hottest job I ever experienced.

Guilty pleasure: B’s Barbecue

Favorite meal: Eating good fried oysters with my lovely wife Michelle on the Outer Banks.

One thing most people don’t know about me: I am a certified building contractor (inactive).

FAST FACTS

Name: Dr. Greg Kearney

Title: Associate professor, Brody School of Medicine, Department of Public Health

Hometown: When I was a boy, my father worked for Carolina Telephone Company, and we moved around eastern North Carolina a few times. I grew up in Roanoke Rapids but also lived in New Bern, Rocky Mount and Greenville.

Colleges attended and degrees: Associate of Science in architecture, Nash Community College; Bachelor of Science in urban and regional planning, ECU; Master of Public Health, University of South Florida; Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in environmental health sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham

PIRATE PRIDE

Years working at ECU: Nine years

What I do at ECU: Lots of teaching, research and service. I also serve as the founding program director for the Doctor of Public Health program in environmental and occupational health in the Brody School of Medicine, Department of Health.

What I love about ECU: Servire — its commitment to serve rural, eastern North Carolina

Research interests: My background is environmental epidemiology and applied public health practice, so I tend to focus on how things in our environment impact human health, particularly among disadvantaged populations.

What advice do you give to students? Learning and knowledge are important, but you need to develop your skillset “toolbox” to get a job. I try and emphasize building students’ skills in areas that give them an edge, including leadership, technical writing, communication, and building and maintaining professional relationships and collaborations.

Favorite class to teach? I enjoy teaching all of my classes, but if I had to choose, I would pick MPH 7200 public health surveillance and PUBH 8125 environmental and occupational epidemiology

QUICK QUIZ

What do you like to do when not working? Spend time with family and ride my mountain bike in the woods on the Bike Post Trail.