Shakira Henderson, MPH, PhD, began her work in the newly created role on April 4.
Shakira Henderson, MPH, PhD, has been named assistant vice chancellor for clinical research at UNC-Chapel Hill, effective April 4, 2022. In this newly created role, she will be jointly appointed within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research; with UNC Health, where she serves as vice president for research; and with the UNC School of Medicine, where she serves as Clinical Research Integration Officer. She will provide seamless integration of clinical research management across all three entities.
“Much of our clinical research occurs within the health care system, so we’re excited to leverage this opportunity to utilize Dr. Henderson’s joint role to better support the campus community and to enhance our infrastructure,” said Andy Johns, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. “This is an exciting change that will help accelerate our efforts to grow our clinical research across campus.”
Henderson joined UNC Health in December of last year. In her role as vice president, she led efforts between the UNC Health Office of Research Support and Compliance and the School of Medicine Clinical Research Support Office. She worked closely with stakeholders to develop a system-wide research strategy encompassing translational, basic and clinical research. This experience made her uniquely qualified and positioned to take on expanded responsibilities to align clinical research efforts across campus.
Prior to joining UNC Health, she worked at Vidant Health, where she served in roles including senior systems administrator for research and grants and director of nursing and health research. She has also served as a faculty member at the Chamberlain College of Nursing, and as a research administrator and nurse scientist at Baptist Health in Miami, Florida.
She received her PhD from the University of Miami, her DNP and MSN from the University of South Alabama, and her MPH and MS from Barry University.