Public health research, advocacy, and education rooted in prevention.
Dr. Shailja Tiku’s work sits at the intersection of medicine, public health, mental health awareness, prevention, and community education. From academic research and national presentations to advocacy and volunteer work, her public health perspective has always centered on helping people understand the factors that shape health before crisis occurs.
Research & Impact
Research and presentations
Dr. Shailja Tiku is a public health and behavioral scientist with a medical background and a long-standing interest in preventive approaches to health.
According to the CDC, three in four American adults have at least one chronic condition, and over half have two or more. For Dr. Tiku, that reality reinforces the importance of prevention, health education, and sustainable behavior change.
Her research reflects that broader public health lens, exploring mental health, school bullying, behavioral risk factors, health disparities, intimate partner violence, infant mortality, community-based participatory research, and nutrition gaps associated with chronic disease.
She has also shared her work through national public health conferences, including presenting her research at the American Public Health Association Annual Meetings and Expo, where she’ll be speaking again in November 2026.
Doctoral Dissertation Research
For her doctoral dissertation, Shailja used multi-level Latent Class Analysis to identify patterns of bullying, victimization, and bystander behavior among high school students in the United States. Grounded in the Social-Ecological Model, her research further examined how individual, family, peer, and school-level factors were associated with those behavioral patterns.
Why it matters:
This work reflects a core public health principle that continues to shape her approach today: behavior does not happen in isolation. It is influenced by the relationships, environments, systems, and lived experiences that surround a person over time.
Bullying Victimization and Binge Drinking
This research explored the relationship between bullying victimization and binge drinking among U.S. adolescents, including the role of depression in mediating those associations.
Why it matters:
By examining the connection between peer experiences, mental health, and risk behavior, this work reflects Shailja’s broader interest in prevention, early intervention, and the social conditions that influence health outcomes.
Dietary Patterns, Hmong Populations, and Chronic Disease Risk
This study examined dietary patterns among Hmong populations in the United States and their associations with obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases.
Why it matters:
This work connects nutrition, culture, health disparities, and chronic disease prevention — showing how public health research can help identify gaps that influence long-term health outcomes in specific communities.
Articles and interviews
Public conversations about mental health, prevention, and whole-person well-being.
Shailja’s work has also been shared through articles and interviews that highlight her public health mission, mental health advocacy, and role as Mrs. Wisconsin International 2019.
These features reflect a consistent thread in her work: making health education more visible, accessible, and connected to real life.
Mental health advocacy
Breaking stigma and bringing prevention into the conversation earlier.
Mental health awareness has been a central part of Shailja’s public health work.
Through her platform as Mrs. Wisconsin International 2019 and her partnership with Mental Health America of Wisconsin, she focused on breaking stigma, supporting awareness, and helping families better understand the importance of mental health promotion and early support.
Her work aligned closely with the idea that mental health concerns should be addressed long before they reach a crisis point.
Partnership with Mental Health America of Wisconsin
Mental Health America is a community-based nonprofit focused on addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting overall mental health.
Shailja worked one-on-one with Mental Health America of Wisconsin, integrating her volunteer work into her platform on mental health awareness. In addition to supporting events, she contributed her time and expertise as a practitioner and researcher to help further the organization’s mission.
Volunteer and community work
Supporting prevention, education, and healthier communities.
Shailja’s public health work has also extended into volunteer service and community partnerships focused on prevention, awareness, and education.
Her volunteer work reflects the same belief that guides Restore with Dr. Tiku today: health is shaped by knowledge, environment, access, support, and the communities people live within.
American Heart Association
Shailja partnered with the American Heart Association to support heart health awareness, including Go Red for Women.
Her work with AHA reflected a commitment to prevention and women’s health, especially around heart disease — the leading cause of death among women in the United States.
She also volunteered at events and served on the Go Red for Women auction committee.
From public health to real-life change
Research and advocacy continue to shape the way Dr. Tiku supports behavior change.
Across her research, advocacy, and volunteer work, one idea has remained central: health behaviors do not occur in a vacuum.
They are shaped by stress, environment, social determinants of health, systems, routines, relationships, lived experiences, and the realities of daily life.
That perspective continues to guide Restore with Dr. Tiku — helping women translate evidence-based health information into realistic habits that support how they want to feel, function, and live.
Bring evidence into real life
Interested in working with Dr. Tiku?
Whether you are interested in coaching or exploring a public health collaboration, Restore with Dr. Tiku brings together medicine, public health, and behavior change to support practical, evidence-informed health strategies.
