Hello! I’m Liz (she/her). I am a social scientist currently working as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University.

Broadly, my work focuses on the intersections between stigma, violence, and health. My research is predicated on the idea that health is not an objective, biological status. Instead, health behaviors and outcomes are shaped by an individual’s social identities, the ways in which those identities are socially constructed and (de)valued, and experiences of stigma, discrimination, and violence at multiple levels, from interpersonal to structural. My recent projects have answered questions like:

• Do female survivors of intimate partner violence engage in riskier sex when they experience higher IPV stigma?
• What kinds of experiences do sexual and gender minority adults report having with healthcare providers in the United States?
• Which psychological factors influence intimate partner violence perpetration among adolescent boys in South Africa?

I use a range of methods for this work, including cross-sectional survey analyses, mixed models (GLMMs, HLMs) with longitudinal and EMA data, structural equation modeling, and qualitative interviews. I typically work on interdisciplinary teams across psychology, public health, epidemiology, medicine, and policy. Similarly, I have experience working with and recruiting from diverse research populations with sensitivity and competency.

I graduated with my PhD in Social Health Psychology from the SPICE Lab at Stony Brook University. During graduate school, I completed an advanced graduate certificate in quantitative methods and elective coursework in grant writing and science communication. Previously, I worked at the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, managing several randomized trials of tobacco cessation interventions. I’m also an alumna of the College of the Holy Cross, where I started my research journey in the Concealable Stigmatized Identities Lab.

Beyond research, I enjoy cross-stitching and taking pictures of my cat, Gloria Estefan-Steinem. Following my postdoc (Spring 2025), I aim to begin a full-time position in an industry, nonprofit, or government setting where I can leverage my research and writing skills to improve health outcomes for all.