Jennifer Ahern, PhD, MPH
- Executive Associate Dean
- King Sweesy and Robert Womack Endowed Chair, Medical Research and Public Health
Biography
Dr. Jennifer Ahern is Executive Associate Dean and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. She examines the effects of the social and physical environment, and programs and policies that alter the social and physical environment, on many aspects of health (e.g., violence, substance use, mental health, and gestational health). Dr. Ahern has a methodological focus to her work, including the application of causal inference methods and semi-parametric estimation approaches, aimed at improving the rigor of observational research, and optimizing public health intervention planning. Her research has been supported by a New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the Director.
Research Interests
- Social epidemiology
- Neighborhood characteristics and health
- Methodological issues and novel methodological applications in social epidemiology
- Traumatic events
- Substance use
- Mental health
- Behavioral health
- Birth outcomes and maternal health
- Population health
Education
-
PhD – Epidemiology
University of California, Berkeley, 2007 -
MPH – Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, Berkeley, 2000 -
BA – Human Biology
Brown University, 1997