Lindsay Stark is a social epidemiologist whose work focuses on preventing violence, improving mental health and advancing the well-being of women, children, and families in contexts of conflict, displacement and adversity. She is internationally recognized for developing innovative methods to measure sensitive social issues and for evaluating interventions that promote safety and resilience.

Stark has led landmark studies including the Neighborhood Method for estimating gender-based violence, the COMPASS trial to prevent violence against adolescent girls and two initiatives — Sibling Support for Adolescent Girls in Emergencies (SSAGE) and Study of Adolescent Lives after Migration to America (SALaMA) — supporting refugee and migrant youth. She is currently collaborating with UNICEF on a global analysis of the relationship between infectious-disease outbreaks and gender-based violence, part of The Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People.

Her research has been published in leading journals such as The Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and BMJ Global Health, and she has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles. She also helped establish research centers in Indonesia and Uganda focused on child protection and family welfare.

Stark serves on the editorial boards of PLOS One and BMC Public Health and advises global initiatives including the UN Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. At WashU, she is an inaugural co-director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health & Society and co-director of the Center on Violence and Injury Prevention. She previously served as Associate Dean of Global Programs at the Brown School.

Areas of Focus:

  • Violence prevention
  • Gender norms
  • Global child protection
  • Psychosocial well-being
  • Refugees and displaced populations

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