At SER conferences, I first met some of my closest collaborators, learned about exciting new epidemiologic methods, and discovered ideas for new research projects. By serving as an SER Member-At-Large, chairing sessions and symposia, supporting trainees and new SER initiatives, I have grown tremendously as an epidemiologist.

I direct the Epidemiology Division at the Department of Population Health of NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where I also founded and currently lead the NYU Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy. As of July 1, I will become Chair of the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. My research focuses on addressing two of the leading reasons why people in the United States die earlier than people in comparable countries: overdose and gun violence. I aim to answer three questions: (1) what impact do state and local laws have on access to evidence-based interventions and risk of injury and death?; (2) how and where should we target interventions to ensure maximal and equitable impact?; and (3) what types of interventions work best for each setting and population? My current NIH-funded research focuses on: understanding how disasters and other “Big Events” affect people’s risk of overdose; evaluating how municipal laws affect drug-related harms; and investigating the impact of overdose prevention centers on the health of people who use drugs. I am also interested in understanding how the impact of violence prevention programs could spread across social networks to produce a population-level benefit.

I hold three guiding principles as paramount in this work: (1) conducting research at the highest standards of scientific rigor; (2) centering the voices of people with lived and living experience at all stages of research; and (3) having real-world impact in policy and practice.

I place tremendous value on mentoring and teaching the next generation of epidemiologists. I received the Population Health Mentor of the Year Award in the Department of Population Health in 2023 and 2025, for excellence in mentorship of doctoral students and junior faculty. As Director of the Epidemiology Division, I have prioritized strengthening the epidemiology doctoral program and investing funds in student and staff training and professional development. As Director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy, I have deeply invested in training the next generation of researchers in substance use epidemiology, creating weekly spaces for staff-student-faculty cross-mentoring, monthly meetings for staff and students to share works in progress, and the data and resources needed to facilitate involvement in research.

This is a critical time for public health. By building a community of epidemiologists committed to addressing the world’s most important health challenges, SER is ideally placed to make a difference. We can use rigorous epidemiologic methods to inform effective policy and practice, and establish strong partnerships across sectors to make translation possible. As President, I will grow the role that the organization plays in informing the public health conversation. This includes, for example, strengthening representation at SER of practicing epidemiologists in government agencies and community organizations, creating spaces for members in the academic and practitioner spheres to come together to discuss how we can leverage new scientific developments to inform public health action, and offering workshops on communication and on public health translation for epidemiologists. By working together, we can ensure that we promote cutting-edge research that has an impact on people’s lives, and that we foster the growth and proliferation of the field of epidemiology in a particularly challenging time.