Hello! I’m Liz (she/her). I am an interdisciplinary social scientist currently working as a sexual health researcher and data scientist on the STEPP Team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Broadly, my work focuses on the intersections between stigma, violence, and health. I study the ways in which health behaviors and outcomes are shaped by an individual’s social identities, how those identities are socially constructed and (de)valued, and experiences of stigma, discrimination, and violence at multiple levels, from intrapersonal to structural.

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, social work, and policy. I have experience working with participants from marginalized and oppressed 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. I then completed a postdoc in the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook, where I led analyses and manuscript writing for an NIH-funded study on violence victimization as a driver of HIV transmission among South African boys.

Previously, I worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Boston College School of Social Work, an intern at Ibis Reproductive Health, and as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. I started my research journey in the Concealable Stigmatized Identities Lab during my undergraduate years at the College of the Holy Cross.

Beyond research, I enjoy cross-stitching and taking pictures of my cat, Gloria Estefan-Steinem. I am located in the Boston area and hope to find a position here in an industry, nonprofit, or government setting where I can leverage my research and writing skills to improve health outcomes for all.