Vinita Oberoi Leedom

Adjunct Faculty

Cook School of Business

Education

PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, USC Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
MPH, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
BA, French Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
BA, International Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Biography

Vinita Oberoi Leedom, PhD, MPH, PMP, is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia International University. With more than 17 years of public health experience, she brings expertise in maternal and child health, cancer prevention, infectious disease, evaluation, and health policy to graduate-level instruction.

Dr. Leedom holds a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, an MPH from Tulane University, and dual bachelor’s degrees from Louisiana State University in French and International Studies. Her doctoral research examined barriers to care for children with Down syndrome, for which she received the Marie W. Taubeneck Award from the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention.

Her career includes time in infectious disease epidemiology, maternal and child health, public health evaluation, and cancer. She has robust experience overseeing CDC and HRSA funded grants. She is a co-author on peer-reviewed publications such as Birth Defects Research and Families, Systems, & Health. She recently served on boards for the National Birth Defects Prevention Network and the SC Cancer Alliance.

A Project Management Professional (PMP) and Quality Matters-certified educator, Dr. Leedom also chairs doctoral committees and develops graduate courses at several schools. Dr. Leedom leads Optimum Apex, LLC, a public health and technology consultancy.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Leedom is the mother of five children and is married to Dave. An avid traveler, she speaks French, Hindi, and Spanish and continues to pursue additional languages.

Selected Publications & Presentations

Leedom, V. O., Friedman, D. B., Scott, G. I., Porter, D. E., & Kirby, R. S. (2026). Parental perspectives on respiratory illness, healthcare access, and environmental concerns among children with Down syndrome: A qualitative study in South Carolina. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(9), 1111. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23091111
Leedom, V. O., Rasmussen, S. A., Kirby, R., Scott, G. I., Porter, D. E., & Friedman, D. B. (2025). Barriers to preventive care and medical screenings among children with Down syndrome in South Carolina as described by parents. Families, Systems, & Health, 43(2), 311–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000987
Shi, H., Book, W. M., Ivey, L. C., et al. (2025). A generalized machine learning model for identifying congenital heart defects (CHDs) using ICD codes. Birth Defects Research, 117(2), e2440. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.2440
Neelam, V., Woodworth, K. R., Chang, D. J., et al. (2024). Outcomes up to age 36 months after congenital Zika virus infection—U.S. states. Pediatric Research, 95(2), 558–565. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02787-9
Martin-Giacalone, B. A., Lin, A. E., Rasmussen, S. A., et al. (2023). Prevalence and descriptive epidemiology of Turner syndrome in the United States, 2000–2017: A report from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 191(5), 1339–1349. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.63181
Farr, S. L., Riley, C., Van Zutphen, A. R., et al. (2022). Prevention and awareness of birth defects across the lifespan using examples from congenital heart defects and spina bifida. Birth Defects Research, 114(2), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1972
Delaney, A., Olson, S. M., Roth, N. M., et al. (2022). Prevalence of individual brain and eye defects potentially related to Zika virus in pregnancy in 22 U.S. states and territories, January 2016 to June 2017. Birth Defects Research, 114(14), 805–811. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.2067
Romeo, A. N., Leedom, V., Nance, A., et al. (2021). Promoting collaborations to improve birth defects surveillance, research, and prevention: A joint editorial from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network and the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists. Birth Defects Research, 113(2), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1852
Samson, M. E., Leedom, V., Mai, C. T., Humphries, B., & Yeung, L. F. (2021). Evaluation of an active population-based surveillance system for major birth defects in South Carolina. Birth Defects Research, 113(2), 128–133. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1821

Recognitions & Awards

Marie W. Taubeneck Award- Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention. Doctoral research award recognizing outstanding research on children with birth defects.
Outstanding Public Health Service Award- Arnold School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, May 2023.
Maternal and Child Health Catalyst Award (student presentation)- University of South Carolina, April 2023.
Associate Public Manager (APM) Certification- SC Department of Administration, May 2018.
Leadership, Excellence and Achievement Program (LEAP) Graduate- SC Department of Public Health, May 2018. Graduate of and speaker for the agency’s second cohort of LEAP, a competitive agency-wide leadership development program.

Curriculum Vitae