Shamayeta Bhattacharya, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Community Engagement
Director of the Ph.D. in Community Engagement program 

Contact information

• Office: West Penn 1103
• Email: sbhattacharya@pointpark.edu

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Geography, University of Connecticut 
• Master of Science, Geography, Presidency University
• Bachelor of Science, Geography, Minor in Sociology and Economics, Presidency University
• Certificates in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Human Rights

Courses Taught

• Qualitative Research Methods
• Quantitative Research Methods
• World Regional Geography
• Research and Professional Writing
• Introduction to GIS in Health

Background

Shamayeta Bhattacharya (she/her) is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership at Point Park University. She is also the director of the Ph.D. in Community Engagement program. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut's Department of Geography and completed graduate certificates in human rights and women’s gender and sexuality studies.

Her research advances two interrelated areas of scholarship: environmental health geography and participatory, community-engaged geospatial methods. The first examines how environmental and social conditions shape health behaviors and outcomes across populations. The second advances spatial methodologies by integrating community-engaged approaches with geospatial analytics, empowering communities to articulate and visualize their own environmental and health realities. Together, these strands bridge geography, environmental studies, community engagement, and public health, advancing knowledge of how environmental change, social inequality, and place-based vulnerability influence population health.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

• Health geography
• Minority health
• Healthcare access
• Environmental and Climate Health
• Mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods
• Participatory Mapping
• Qualitative and mixed geographic information systems (GIS)
• Integrating big data with thick data

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Bhattacharya, S., Abu, T, Cope, M. and Dasgupta, A. “Synergies of participatory mapping and health geography: A scoping review” Social Science and Medicine (Forthcoming)
• Murphy, L, and Bhattacharya, S. “Exploring sense of community and place identity via murals: A photovoice study in the Anthracite Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, USA” Annals of the American Association of Geographers (Forthcoming)
• McDonald, Y; Caiola, M; Crone, E; Robbins, N; Bhattacharya, S “Community-based Participatory Geographic Information Systems: Informing a Long-Term Drinking Water Research Collaboration” Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2025.
• Bhattacharya, S. “Queering Spatial Humanities”, in Oxford Handbook of Spatial Humanities, Oxford University Press USA (accepted for publication), 2025.
• Bhattacharya, S. and Whitkker Bek* “Medication uptake and adherence among marginalized communities: A South Asian perspective”, part of the Book Series Global Perspectives on Health Geography, Springer Nature (accepted for publication), 2025.
• Bhattacharya, S., and Ghosh, D. “MAHI: A Multidimensional Access to Healthcare Index for hijra, kothi, and transgender individuals.” International Journal of Transgender Health, 2024. DOI: 10.1080/26895269.2023.2301306.
• Bhattacharya, S., Ghosh, D. and Purkayastha, B. “Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of India: A critical analysis of the Policy using trans people’s perspectives.” Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2022. DOI: 10.1093/jhuman/huac004.
• Bhattacharya, S., “Becoming an Ally and Understanding the Geographies of Gender Identity: Lessons from Fieldwork.” The Geographical Bulletin 62(2). 2021. https://gammathetaupsilon.org/the-geographical-bulletin/2020s/volume62-2/A/article5.pdf.  
• Das, S. and Bhattacharya, S., “Factors affecting beach walkability- Tourists’ perception study at selected beaches of West Bengal, India.” Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. 35, 100423. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100423 
• Bhattacharya, S. and Ghosh, D. “Studying physical and mental health status among hijra, kothi and transgender community in Kolkata, India.” Social Science and Medicine. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113412 

Other Publications

• Barnes, M., Bator, M. Bhattacharya, S, et al. Convening of Care Collective. “Care in the Academic Research Enterprise: Reflections and a Call to Action from the Inaugural Convening of Care” https://doi.org/10.14433/2017.0169
• Bhattacharya, S. (Ed.). Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group Newsletter (2022 Issue). American Association of Geographers. https://aag-hmgsg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hmgsg-2022-newsletter-.pdf

Selected Awards and Honors

• Melinda Meade travel award of Health and Medical Geography specialty group, 2022
• American Association of Geographer (AAG) dissertation grant, 2021
• Asian Geography specialty group of AAG graduate student paper award, 2021
• Latinx geography of AAG student travel award, 2021
• Queer and Trans Geography specialty Group of AAG student travel award, 2021
• ESRI ArcGIS map competition finalist, 2021
• Race, Ethnicity, and Place, National conference Best Student Paper Award, 2020
• Peter Gould Graduate Student Paper Award finalist of AAG, 2020
• Graduate Student Paper Award, NESTVAL Conference, Central Connecticut State University, 2017
• Junior Research Fellowship National Eligibility Test (N.E.T.) conducted by the University Grants Commission (U.G.C.) of India, 2015

Professional Memberships

• Member of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), 2017-2023
• Graduate Representative of Mental Health Affinity Group of the AAG, 2021-23
• Awards Committee Chair of Queer and Trans Geography Affinity group of the AAG, 2021-22
• Graduate Student Representative of Health and Medical Geography Affinity group of AAG, 2020-2022
• President of ‘Tarang’ University of Connecticut’s South Asian Student association, 2019-2020