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.
John Jackson, ScD, develops methods for translational health equity research, including measurement, epidemiology, and policy/intervention effects on health inequities.
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 at the intersection of population health and care delivery systems, environmental and planetary health, and health equity.
Daniel A. Antiporta, PhD '21, MSc, MPH '16, is a social epidemiologist with expertise in survey science, methodology, and health inequality monitoring in domestic and international settings.
David Celentano, ScD ’77, MHS ’75, is an infectious disease epidemiologist who researches behavioral risk factors for HIV/AIDS, STIs, and other infections.
Javier Cepeda, PhD, MPH, researches the intersecting epidemics of substance use, infectious disease, and justice involvement, as well as interventions needed to reduce these harms on public health.
Michael R. Desjardins, PhD, MA, is a spatial epidemiologist and medical geographer who works on pushing the frontier of understanding the nexus between health and place.
Becky Genberg, PhD '10, MPH '02, uses research to understand and intervene on the social determinants of health behaviors and outcomes related to infectious disease and substance use.
Carrie Lyons, PhD ’23, MPH ’15, uses research to understand and address social and structural determinants of outcomes and disparities related to infectious diseases.
Tanjala S. Purnell, PhD '12, MPH, uses epidemiology and health services research to advance equity in transplantation and related conditions, including kidney diseases, hypertension, and diabetes.
Amrita Rao, PhD ’22, ScM '16, works to understand and address the HIV prevention and treatment needs of historically marginalized populations, including sexual and gender minorities and female sex workers.
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 structural interventions to address food system issues and advance health equity through the lens of urban policy and planning.
Pamela Surkan, PhD, ScD, MS, is a social epidemiologist working in the areas of mental health, child health, and development and testing of interventions to reduce health disparities.
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, uses social epidemiology and behavioral science methods to investigate injury/violence, substance use, and overdose prevention.
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.
Radhika Raghunathan, MSPH '16, PhD '20, examines multilevel and longitudinal processes influencing children’s social, emotional, and behavioral well-being, and antecedents of mental health disorders.
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 '15, MS, focuses on promoting the health and well-being of children, youth, and families in the face of violence, adversity, and exposure to the criminal legal system.
Farah Qureshi, ScD, MHS '10, is a social epidemiologist who studies the early life origins of cardiovascular health disparities.
