Dr. Nazaruk holds a DrPH in Community Health Behavior and Education from Georgia Southern University and both an MPH and MSSM from Armstrong State University. She became a faculty member at Georgia Southern University in January 2018 and currently works in the Department of Health Policy and Community Health. She also serves as an Internship Practice Liaison for the graduate students at Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University. 

Dr. Nazaruk’s research interests fall broadly within multiple areas of the Social and Behavioral Health Sciences. From past experiences, her primary focus has been in the field of obesity prevention research in underserved populations. Specifically, she has engaged in research related to physical activity. Her dissertation research focused on the determinants of physical activity among women ages 20-44 years in rural Georgia. She has also explored the physical activity promotion in primary care. Her current research work examines the role of modern technologies as an influence on the physical activity level. Since modern technologies play a significant part in the adoption of health behaviors in today’s world, she has been working on the development of new research methods that utilize technologies to influence health-related behaviors. She has also assisted in completing health status profiles (Community Health Needs Assessments) for 18 counties in rural Georgia. Besides, Dr. Nazaruk was a program evaluator for various local and international programs. She continues to consult with the international community-based organization on their obesity prevention interventions. While her research interests focus mainly on obesity prevention, her work continues to rely on the community involvement processes central to the practice of public health. She believes that genuine community engagement is critical in developing a complete understanding of factors that influence health, the barriers to improving health, and the social consequences of failing to affect change.   

Disciplines: Community Health Behavior and Education

Teaching Interests: Social marketing, Social and behavioral theories, Global health, Program planning and evaluation