Dr. Shanahan is an Assistant Professor of Maternal and Child Health and a Research Scientist at the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The focus of Dr. Shanahan’s research is to improve the health and developmental trajectories of children. Her research focuses on adverse events that potentially influence these trajectories and prevent children from realizing their full potential. Documenting the magnitude, etiology, and impact of child maltreatment and examining primary prevention strategies for child abuse and neglect has been a major focus of her work. Dr. Shanahan also leads research related to the opioid epidemic in partnership with the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch at the North Carolina Division of Public Health.