Faculty
Our faculty are dedicated to research and training that advance scientific understanding of behaviors related to health and how to influence them and improve health outcomes.
The Department of Health, Behavior and Society is also fortunate to have distinguished part-time faculty, including leaders in behavioral and social sciences and public health. These faculty teach courses, serve as preceptors, and guide students seeking career counseling.
Name Sort descending | Title | Overview |
---|---|---|
Jill Owczarzak | Associate Professor | Jill Owczarzak, PhD, MA, is a medical anthropologist who explores how cultural, social, and political forces shape health disparities. |
Joanna Cohen | Professor | Joanna Cohen, PhD, MHSc, is Chair of the Department of Health, Behavior & Society. She conducts research and capacity building to inform and advance interventions to eliminate tobacco-caused death and disease. |
Julie Evans | Assistant Scientist | |
Karin Tobin | Professor | Karin Tobin, PhD ‘04, MHS ’00, is a social and behavioral scientist who studies how social networks and place-based context shape health and inequalities. |
Kate Wright | Research Associate | Kate Wright, MPH '17, strives to promote equity, justice, and wellness through research and program development focusing on gender, human rights, and maternal and child health. |
Katherine Smith | Professor | Katherine Clegg Smith, PhD, MA, is a sociologist who examines health experiences and health communication, with a research focus on cancer and chronic disease. |
Kevin Welding | Associate Scientist | Kevin Welding, PhD, MA, is an economist studying corporate influence on public health. His work has supported fiscal and health policy change around the world. |
Kiara Álvarez | Assistant Professor | |
Kristin Schneider | Associate Research Professor | |
Krystal Lee | Research Associate | Krystal Lee, EdD, MPA, supports educators in building safe, equitable, and just learning communities so that all students can experience the joys and rigors of learning. |
Lauren Czaplicki | Associate Scientist | Lauren Czaplicki, PhD '18, MPH, applies a critical public health research lens to understand corporate influence on health and policymaking. |
Lauren Dayton | Associate Research Professor | Lauren Dayton, PhD, MSPH, is a behavioral scientist who works to promote the well-being of youth and families through the development, implementation, and evaluation of trauma and harm prevention interventions. |
Lauren Parker | Associate Scientist | Lauren Parker, PhD, MPH, examines how home-and-community based supports address the cultural needs of Black and Hispanic caregivers. |
Lee Bone | Associate Professor | Lee Bone, MPH '77, RN, is a community-driven trailblazer and a fearless silo-buster for sustainable change in the context of urban health and chronic disease. |
Liesl Nydegger | Assistant Professor | Liesl Nydegger, PhD, MPH, uses multi-level intervention methods to prevent HIV among communities of color, particularly cisgender women, transgender men and women, and non-binary individuals. |
Lisa Cooper | Professor | Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH '93, works to advance health equity with scholarship on racial disparities in patient-physician communication and community-informed interventions. |
Maria-Elena Figueroa | Associate Scientist | Maria-Elena Figueroa, PhD '96, researches health behavior and applied communication worldwide, and directs CCP’s Global Program on Water and Hygiene. |
Maryam Mirza | Assistant Scientist | |
Meghan Moran | Associate Professor | Meghan Moran, PhD, MA, studies how communications from advertising to misinformation shape public health issues such as vaccine promotion, cancer screening, and tobacco control. |
Melissa Davey-Rothwell | Research Professor | Melissa Davey-Rothwell, PhD '07, MPH, is a behavioral scientist who studies the implementation of evidence-based interventions in community-based settings. |