People

Elisabeth (Beth) Stelson is a licensed social worker and social epidemiologist whose research examines how working conditions — especially exposure to trauma — affect the health and well-being of low- and middle-income “helping professionals,” upon whose labor our health care and social welfare systems depend. This research program stems from Stelson’s practice experience managing programs […]

Julia Fleckman’s work centers on the prevention of violence and violence-related harms.  Her scholarship is focused on understanding how structural and social conditions play a role in shaping community and family -level violence as well as the development and implementation of successful prevention strategies. She has a particular emphasis on community-partnered research and evaluation, with […]

Anusha Vable is a social epidemiologist who studies how social and economic systems affect people’s health, especially as they age. She uses statistical tools from epidemiology and techniques developed in other disciplines, such as economics and genetics, to explore how factors such as education, income and job type over the life course influence health outcomes.  […]

Kim Thuy Seelinger is an expert on gender-based violence in armed conflict and forced displacement, focusing on survivors’ needs for protection and accountability and strengthening the support and legal systems they encounter. Seelinger engages with justice actors, victims’ advocates, human rights defenders and asylum adjudicators to develop survivor-centered approaches in Africa, Europe and the Americas. […]

Susy Stark’s work is aimed at helping older adults live independently for as long as possible. She conducts clinical and translational research to promote successful aging in place and prevent falls. Much of her research focuses on older adults with chronic health conditions. Such people experience functional decline affecting their ability to live independently and […]

Derek Brown is a health economist who uses innovative methods to study health-care costs and quality, access to care, and health behaviors. His primary goal is to improve the valuation of health outcomes and policies, and to enhance the economic evaluation of public health policies.  Brown’s areas of focus are child health (Medicaid, child maltreatment, […]

For over two decades, Charlene Caburnay has been at the forefront of designing, developing, and evaluating health communication programs at the Health Communication Research Laboratory, directly addressing critical public health issues such as cancer, diabetes, COVID-19, childhood immunization and chronic diseases. She has created communications aimed at a variety of audiences, including smokers, families at […]

  Jessica Backman-Levy’s research focuses on the relationships between gender, poverty and global reproductive health. She designs and evaluates culturally grounded interventions that promote gender equality, and strengthen health and development outcomes.  Backman-Levy has worked in underserved communities in the United States, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. She has provided research support and […]

William (Bill) Effah is a physician-scientist with a decade of experience in clinical, field and academic health care in the United States and internationally. His work is focused on developing scalable, cost-effective and innovative health strategies and technology tools for managing infectious and chronic diseases in low-resource settings.  Before joining the School of Public Health, Effah […]

Patrick J. Fowler’s research aims to prevent homelessness and its harmful effects on children, families, and community well-being using innovative community- and data-driven methodologies. Trained in child clinical-community psychology, Fowler develops innovative approaches to inform policies and programs that promote housing and family stability. His work uses a complex systems perspective to inform developmentally and […]