Faculty and Staff

Dr. Claudia A. Serna serves as the Chair of the Department of Public Health, the Director of the Master of Public Health Program, and an Associate Professor at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University. She earned her dental degree from Javeriana University, followed by a master's and doctoral degree in public health with a focus on health promotion and disease prevention from Florida International University. Additionally, she holds a Master of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Serna furthered her education with a residency in dental public health at NYU Langone Health and obtained a certificate in social media marketing from Rutgers University School of Business. Dr. Serna is master certified in health education, a certified communicator in public health, board certified in public health, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health.

Her accolades include the 2017 American Public Health Association Anthony Westwater Jong Memorial Community Dental Health Post-Professional Award, the 2017 Leverett Graduate Student Merit Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dental Public Health from the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD), the 2020 KPCOM M.P.H. Golden Apple Award, and the Hispanic Dental Association and Crest + Oral-B 2024 Community Service Award. Her research has been featured in several scientific journals, including the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, American Journal of Public Health, AIDS Education and Prevention, Family and Community Health, and the International Public Health Journal. Dr. Serna has made significant contributions to studies on Dental Care Utilization, Dental-Related Use of Hospital Emergency Departments, Community-Based HIV Prevention Interventions. Additionally, she authored a chapter in the American Public Health Association book "Oral Health in America."