Social Epidemiology Faculty
Department of Epidemiology

Lorraine T. Dean, ScD, is a social epidemiologist who examines how privilege and disadvantage influence chronic disease, and teaches an award-winning course on the topic.

Aruna Chandran, MD, MPH ’04, studies how household and neighborhood factors affect health outcomes, and how resiliency factors can be leveraged to improve well-being.

Sonia Angell, MD, MPH, works on research, policies, and programs that make places where we live, work, and play healthier for all of us.

David Celentano, ScD '77, MHS '75, is an infectious disease epidemiologist who researches behavioral risk factors for HIV/AIDS, STIs, and other infections.
Department of Health, Behavior and Society

Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH '93, works to advance health equity with scholarship on racial disparities in patient-physician communication and community-informed interventions.

Roland J. Thorpe, Jr., PhD, MS, is a gerontologist and social epidemiologist with nationally-recognized expertise in minority aging, men’s health, and place-based disparities.
Department of Health Policy Management

Cassandra Crifasi, PhD '14, MPH, studies how evidence-based policies and programs can reduce violence and advance equity.

Craig Pollack, MD, MHS, conducts research at the intersection of housing and health to inform policies that help individuals and families live in safe and affordable homes.

Hossein Zare, PhD, MS, researches health and racial disparities, income inequality, neighborhoods and violence, and hospital community benefits to improve health access.
Department of International Health

Md Zabir Hasan, PhD ’19, MPH, MBBS, studies health policy and systems to strengthen health equity, global health, and health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

Yeeli Mui, PhD '17, MPH, examines how urban planning affects healthy food access, including land ownership, transportation, and community development.
Department of Mental Health

Sachini Bandara, PhD ’18, MS, studies how public health policies can improve wellbeing for people who use drugs, have mental illness, or are involved in the carceral system.

Rebecca Fix, PhD, MS, is working to reduce racial bias in the juvenile justice system and to improve culturally-informed care for children who use violence.

Renee M. Johnson, PhD, MPH studies how psychosocial factors shape risk for unhealthy alcohol and drug use among adolescents.

Sabriya Linton, PhD ’13, MPH, uses a health equity lens and mixed methodologies to study how local and macro-level factors influence substance use, mental health, related sequelae.

Tiara C. Willie, PhD, MA, researches how gender-based violence, mental health, and sexual health together advance trauma-informed policies, programs, and interventions.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health

Michele Decker, ScD, leads research at the cutting edge of gender equity, and gender-based violence prevention and response, in close partnership with practitioners and communities most affected.

Lori Heise, PhD, is an expert on gender equity, social change, women’s economic and social empowerment, and preventing violence against women and children in the family.

Dylan B. Jackson, PhD, MS, focuses on fostering the health and well-being of children and youth in the face of violence, adversity, and exposure to the criminal justice system.