JacKetta Cobbs PhD, MPH
Dr. JacKetta R. Cobbs is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. She attended Florida
A&M University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Masters of Public
Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She also received her PhD in Public Health with a
concentration in Epidemiology from Walden University, where her dissertation was entitled,
“Association of social support and depressive symptoms among African Americans with heart
failure.” After receiving her MPH she worked for South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control Office of Minority Health as a Health Educator for the Center for Disease
Control Diabetes Prevention Program, Power to Prevent. During this program, she facilitated a
community-based program with African American men and their spouses to help them prevent
or control Type 2 Diabetes. She later became an Epidemiologist with the US Army Public Health
Command conducting research with the chemical brigade, engineer, and military police soldiers
during basic training to examine injury rates and injury risk factors during training. Dr. Cobbs
have been working at the Medical University of South Carolina for the last 10 years, where she
have served as a Research Project Manager for 8 years with numerous research studies, including
clinical trials, investigator initiated, and community base participatory research. Currently, she is
the Assistant Academic Program Director for the Department of Public Health Sciences where
she oversee the management of the Master of Public Health, Master of Science, and PhD
programs. Dr. Cobbs, is an active member of the American Public Health Association where she
is the 2021-2024 Section Councilor for the Epidemiology Section and member of the Public
Health Education and Health Promotion Section. She is also a member of the Society for
Epidemiological Research, South Carolina Public Health Association, and Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Incorporated.
In addition to her full-time responsibilities, Dr. Cobbs is the CEO and Founder of J Renee
Consulting, LLC, a public health program management consulting firm. She have worked with
state health departments to develop resources for community partners and rural healthcare center
providers (physicians, pharmacists, and nurses) to provide improved health care to individuals
residing in rural South Carolina.