Laura Kubzansky, MPH, PhD
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Topic: Social and Psychological Influences on Physical Health and Aging

February 6, 2025 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

Dr. Laura Kubzansky is Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Society and Health Laboratory at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also serves as co-Director of the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program and is a sitting faculty member at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Dr. Kubzansky received her Ph.D. (social psychology) from the University of Michigan, and completed a two year postdoctoral fellowship in social epidemiology as well as obtained her M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Kubzansky has published extensively on the role of psychological and social factors in health, with a particular focus on the effects of stress and emotion on heart disease. She also conducts research on whether stress, emotion and other psychological factors help to explain the relationship between social status and health. Other research projects and interests include a) studying the biological mechanisms linking emotions, social relationships, and health; b) relationships between early childhood environments, resilience, and healthy aging, and; c) how interactions between psychosocial stress and environmental exposures (e.g., lead, air pollution) may influence health.