About

Timothy Shea is an Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his B.A. in Greek and Latin from Tulane University and his Ph.D. in Art History from Duke University. Prior to his current position, he served as a Visiting Lecturer at Dartmouth College, where he led the Foreign Study Program in Greece in Spring 2019, and taught courses at Florida State University and Duke University. His research interests focus on the art, archaeology, and topography of ancient Greece during the Archaic and Classical periods. Professor Shea's current book project, titled 'Death and Diplomacy: The Politics of Immigration and Burial in Classical Athens,' explores how immigrant communities expressed their identity through tombstones and burial plots in the cemeteries of ancient Athens. His research has been supported by the Center for Hellenic Studies, where he was a resident fellow in 2022-2023, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which will fund his fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens in Spring 2025. He is involved in a collaborative research project publishing portrait sculpture from the Athenian Agora Excavations, working with colleagues from Duke University and Coastal Carolina University. In all his research, he employs GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and digital mapping tools to study archaeological evidence spatially. At UNC, Professor Shea teaches courses on Greek archaeology and sculpture, as well as archaeological applications of GIS.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Pediatrics
• Environmental health
• Psychiatry
• Bioinformatics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Intensive care medicine
• Developmental psychology
• Genetics
• Demography
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Count of Neonatal Morbidities Predicts Outcomes at Age 10 and 15 Years in Infants Born Extremely Preterm

  The Journal of Pediatrics · 2025-06-27 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Retinopathy of Prematurity and Neurodevelopmental and Quality-of-Life Outcomes at 10 Years of Age

  American Journal of Perinatology · 2025-08-21

  articleOpen access

  To evaluate, in a cohort of children born extremely preterm, the hypothesis that increasing severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is associated with less optimal vision, neurodevelopmental outcomes, and parent-reported quality of life.The Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn study is a multicenter, longitudinal cohort study. Study participants were born before 28 completed weeks of gestation during the years 2002 to 2004 and were enrolled at birth at 14 U.S. hospitals. Based on retinal examinations by ophthalmologists, participants were classified during their initial hospitalization according to the severity of ROP. At 10 years of age, study psychologists evaluated participants' cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and behaviors indicative of autism spectrum disorder. Participants were classified with regard to gross motor function, anxiety, depression, and quality of life based on parents' responses on standardized questionnaires.After adjustment for confounders, increased severity of ROP was associated with increased severity of vision/eye problems, worse scores on math achievement tests, as well as higher prevalence of anxiety and lower quality of life as reported by the parent when the child was 10 years old. A history of blindness in one or both eyes was associated with these same outcomes, as well as worse scores on assessments of cognitive function, reading ability, and social responsiveness.Among extremely preterm children, severe ROP and severe eye or vision problems are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes and lower quality of life. · Severe retinopathy of prematurity in extremely low gestational age neonates (ELGANs) is likely to have adverse outcomes at 10 years of age.. · Severe ROP in ELGANs is associated with parent-reported lower quality of life at 10 years.. · Blindness in one or both eyes following ROP is associated with multiple adverse outcomes at 10 years..

  PublisherDOI

• Developmental Trajectories of Autistic Social Traits in Youth Born Extremely Preterm

  Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025-12-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• DNA Methylation, Environmental Adversities and Attention Problems in Children Born Very Preterm

  Research Square · 2025-07-27

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Residing in a low-income-low-food-access neighbourhood and asthma in early and middle childhood in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program: a multisite cohort study

  BMJ Open · 2025-06-01

  articleOpen access

  Importance Access to healthy and affordable foods may play a role in reducing inflammation and in healthy pulmonary immune system development. Objective To investigate the association between residing in a low-income and low-food-access (LILA) neighbourhood and risk of childhood asthma. A positive association was hypothesised. Design, setting and participants This prospective cohort study consists of 16 012 children from 35 longitudinal studies in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes programme (children born 1998–2021) from across the contiguous USA. We conducted survival analyses adjusted for child sex, race/ethnicity, maternal education, gestational smoking, and parental history of asthma. Exposure(s) Several commonly used geospatial food access metrics were linked to residential locations including: LILA census tracts where the nearest supermarket is >1 mile in urban and >10 miles in rural areas (LILA 1 and 10 ), >1 mile in urban and >20 miles in rural areas (LILA 1 and 20 ), >0.5 mile in urban and >10 miles in rural areas (LILA 0.5 and 10 ), and >0.5 mile without a vehicle or >20 miles (LILA vehicle ). Each metric was linked to lifetime residential history timelines then dichotomised according to whether the child had spent at least 75% of their life living in a LILA area separately for birth through age 5 years (cumulative early childhood) and birth through age 11 years (cumulative middle childhood). Main outcomes(s) and measure(s) Asthma incidence in cumulative early and middle childhood. Results Residing in a LILA 0.5 and 10 and LILA vehicle neighbourhood was associated with a higher asthma incidence in cumulative early and middle childhood. The LILA 0.5 and 10 and LILA vehicle associations were stronger for asthma during cumulative early childhood, where we observed hazard ratios of 1.13 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.24) and 1.13 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.27), respectively. The associations were higher among children who were Hispanic, were female and had lower maternal education. Conclusion and relevance Limited residential food access was associated with higher childhood asthma incidence, especially among female and Hispanic children and those with lower maternal education. Our findings support multipronged efforts to increase access to healthy and affordable food options and lower food insecurity in LILA neighbourhoods.

  PublisherDOI

• Neonatal Inflammation Predicts Adolescent Brain Volume and Neurologic Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Births

  Research Square · 2025-12-15

  preprintOpen access
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• Analysis of prenatal medication use and placental epigenetic gestational age in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs) highlight relationships to aspirin use during pregnancy

  Clinical Epigenetics · 2025-11-25

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Several maternal exposures such as acetaminophen during pregnancy have been previously associated with altered placental CpG methylation. Epigenetic gestational age measures biological aging using DNA methylation from gestational tissues such as placenta and cord blood. We hypothesize that placental epigenetic gestational age (eGA) could serve as a biomarker for maternal exposures or pathological processes that influence placental development. To investigate relationships between maternal exposures and placental eGA, we evaluated prenatal medication use (antibiotics, acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen) in relation to placental epigenetic gestational age acceleration (eGAA) using the Robust Placental Clock (RPC). We also examined associations between these four exposures and the methylation levels of the 558 individual CpGs comprising the RPC. Using data from the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns (ELGAN) study (N = 408), we ran linear mixed-effects regression models that accounted for multiple births to the same mother. We further stratified by infant sex assigned at birth to assess effect measure modification. RESULTS: We observed a positive association between prenatal aspirin use and eGAA at borderline significance (β: + 0.35 weeks gestation; 95% CI: - 0.01, 0.72). When stratified by sex, this finding was significant among females (β: + 0.63 weeks gestation; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.17) but not males (β: - 0.05 weeks gestation; 95% CI: - 0.60, 0.49). Prenatal aspirin use in female pregnancies was further associated with ten differentially methylated RPC CpGs, mapping to genes including Retinoid X Receptor Alpha (RXRA), a nuclear receptor that can function as transcription factor and thereby influence multiple processes critical to placental development. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight that prenatal aspirin use is associated with placental eGAA in a sex-dependent manner, and RPC CpG methylation is sensitive to maternal medication exposures. Additional research is required to validate these eGAA observations, and future research should investigate the mechanisms underlying these relationships and their potential long-term clinical implications in the infant.

  PublisherDOI

• Birth outcomes in relation to neighborhood food access and individual food insecurity during pregnancy in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-wide cohort study

  UNC Libraries · 2025-03-02

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Prenatal Exposure to Metals Is Associated with Placental Decelerated Epigenetic Gestational Age in a Sex-Dependent Manner in Infants Born Extremely Preterm

  UNC Libraries · 2025-03-04

  articleOpen access

  Prenatal exposure to metals can influence fetal programming via DNA methylation and has been linked to adverse birth outcomes and long-term consequences. Epigenetic clocks estimate the biological age of a given tissue based on DNA methylation and are potential health biomarkers. This study leveraged the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) study (n = 265) to evaluate associations between umbilical cord tissue concentrations of 11 metals as single exposures as well as mixtures in relation to (1) placental epigenetic gestational age acceleration (eGAA) and the (2) methylation status of the Robust Placental Clock (RPC) CpGs. Linear mixed effect regression models were stratified by infant sex. Both copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) were significantly associated with a decelerated placental eGA of −0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI): −1.89, −0.07) and −0.90 weeks (95% CI: −1.78, −0.01), respectively, in male infants. Cu and Mn levels were also associated with methylation at RPC CpGs within genes related to processes including energy homeostasis and inflammatory response in placenta. Overall, these findings suggest that prenatal exposures to Cu and Mn impact placental eGAA in a sex-dependent manner in ELGANs, and future work could examine eGAA as a potential mechanism mediating in utero metal exposures and later life consequences.

  PublisherDOI

• Placental epigenetic age and adolescent blood pressure: the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn cohort

  Pediatric Research · 2025-05-07 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: We examined the association between placental epigenetic gestational age (eGA) acceleration and adolescent systolic blood pressure (SBP) in a cohort born extremely preterm. METHODS: Study participants were a subset of the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn cohort (born <28 weeks' gestation) who had placental DNA methylation quantified and had SBP measured during adolescent follow-up. eGA acceleration was calculated as the residual from the regression of predicted placental eGA (using the Robust Placental Clock) onto chronological gestational age. Unadjusted and adjusted mixed effects models were used to test the association between eGA acceleration and adolescent SBP. We also tested the interaction of eGA acceleration and sex on SBP. RESULTS: In the overall sample (N = 193), we found no association between placental eGA acceleration and adolescent SBP. When interaction between eGA acceleration and sex was tested, males had a 3.6 mmHg increase in SBP (95% CI 0.9, 6.4; p = 0.01) for every 1-week acceleration in eGA after adjusting for confounders. CONCLUSION: Placental eGA acceleration is associated with SBP increase in adolescent males but not females born extremely preterm, supporting the hypothesis that placental eGA could be evaluated as a risk biomarker for childhood cardiovascular outcomes. IMPACT: This study examines the association between placental epigenetic gestational age (eGA) and adolescent blood pressure. For every 1-week acceleration in placental eGA, adolescent males born extremely preterm had a 3.6 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure (95% CI 0.9, 6.4; p = 0.01) after adjusting for confounders. The same association was not seen in females or the overall cohort. Our sex-specific finding supports the hypothesis that differences in placental eGA are associated with childhood health. Placental eGA estimation as a tool for identifying children who are at risk for developing elevated blood pressure should be further evaluated in other cohorts.

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Frequent coauthors

• Karl Kuban

  291 shared

• Elizabeth N. Allred

  228 shared

• Alan Leviton

  225 shared

• Robert M. Joseph

  157 shared

• Rebecca C. Fry

  146 shared

• Jean A. Frazier

  104 shared

• Elisabeth C. McGowan

  101 shared

• Hudson P. Santos

  85 shared

Awards & honors

• Olivia James Traveling Fellowship from the Archaeological In…
• John Williams White Fellowship as a Regular Member at the Am…
• Research support from the Center for Hellenic Studies, resid…
• Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (S…