Alexis A Merdjanoff
Alexis A Merdjanoff
Director of the Environmental Public Health Program
Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Professional overview
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Dr. Alexis Merdjanoff is the Director of the Environmental Public Health Program and Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. She is a public health sociologist who explores how population health is affected by exposure to natural hazards, including hurricanes, floods, extreme heat and wildfires. Dr. Merdjanoff is particularly interested in how social inequalities shape the impact of hazards on health, recovery, and resilience for vulnerable populations. To do so, she collects and analyzes survey and interview data to form a holistic understanding of how individuals and communities are affected by these events. While disasters have traditionally been thought of as finite phenomena—with a majority of research focused on the immediate consequences—her research reveals how environmental stressors can lead to economic, emotional, and health burdens long after an event has passed. By focusing on the long-term effects of disasters, she has been able to determine why some survivors are able to recover quickly while others remain mired for months or years.
As Director of Research for the Population Impact, Recovery and Resilience (PiR2) research program, she is currently working on several studies, including the longitudinal Katrina@10 Program, the Sandy Child and Family Health (S-CAFH) Study, and SCALE-UP East Boston to answer questions related to improving the health and well-being of populations exposed to disasters and climate change. More recently, her work has explored the post-disaster resilience of older adults and how older adults can successfully age in high-risk coastal areas. Using in-depth interviews, she aims to identify the resources that older adults need to be resilient, including the social and physical infrastructures needed to successfully prepare for and recover from acute and chronic natural hazards. Her goal is to understand how older adults can successfully adapt to and prepare for coastal erosion, frequent flooding, heatwaves, and disasters.
Dr. Merdjanoff frequently engages in mixed-methods research, including semi-structured in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and survey analysis. Trained as a sociologist, she believes in a holistic approach to answering questions surrounding health, disaster exposure, and recovery. Dr. Merdjanoff teaches several public health courses including, “Qualitative & Field Methods in Global Public Health,” and “Global Issues in Social & Behavioral Health.”
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Education
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BS, Sociology (Magna Cum Laude), New York University, New York, NYMA, Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJPhD, Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
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Honors and awards
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Innovator Program Fellow, National Center for Atmospheric Research (2019)Butler-Williams Scholar, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health (2019)Aging and Rural Health Research Award, American Public Health Association, Aging and Public Health Section (2017)Best Dissertation in Mental Health, American Sociological Association, Sociology of Mental Health section (2016)Anne Foner Dissertation Prize, Department of Sociology, Rutgers University (2016)Matilda White Riley Published Article Award for Outstanding Journal Article, Department of Sociology, Rutgers University (2013)Weather & Society Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) Fellow (2011)Graduate School Special Study Award, Rutgers University (2011)
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Areas of research and study
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Aging and the Life CourseDisaster Impact and RecoveryHousing StabilityMental HealthMixed-Methods ResearchSocial BehaviorsSocial Determinants of Health
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Publications
Publications
Disasters, Displacement, and Housing Instability : Estimating Time to Stable Housing 13 Years after Hurricane Katrina
Failed retrieving data.Elevated serious psychological distress, economic disruption, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the nonmetropolitan American West
Failed retrieving data.Elevated serious psychological distress, economic disruption, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the nonmetropolitan American West
Failed retrieving data.Mapping drivers of second-generation South Asian American eating behaviors using a novel integration of qualitative and social network analysis methods
Failed retrieving data.Moving from interdisciplinary to convergent research across geoscience and social sciences : Challenges and strategies
Failed retrieving data.“Moving Forward” : Older Adult Motivations for Group-Based Physical Activity After Cancer Treatment
Failed retrieving data.Adverse Physical and Mental Health Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill among Gulf Coast Children : An Environmental Justice Perspective
Failed retrieving data.Anticipated mental health consequences of COVID-19 in a nationally-representative sample : Context, coverage, and economic consequences
Failed retrieving data.Anticipated mental health consequences of COVID-19 in a nationally-representative sample: Context, coverage, and economic consequences
Failed retrieving data.Climate, Disasters, and Extreme Weather Events: Vulnerability, Resources, and Interventions for Lower-Income Older Adults
Failed retrieving data.Examining the Dose–Response Relationship : Applying the Disaster Exposure Matrix to Understand the Mental Health Impacts of Hurricane Sandy
Failed retrieving data.Hurricanes and Health: Vulnerability in an age of climate change
Failed retrieving data.Impact of occupational exposure to COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of an essential workgroup : New York City transit workers
Failed retrieving data.Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural America
Failed retrieving data.Landesman's Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide, 5th Edition
Failed retrieving data.Scales and sensitivities in climate vulnerability, displacement, and health
Failed retrieving data.The effects of cumulative natural disaster exposure on adolescent psychological distress
Failed retrieving data.Virtual free-listing informed participatory mind-mapping to enhance qualitative data collection and analysis in health research: methodology and applied experiences
Failed retrieving data.When rebuilding no longer means recovery : the stress of staying put after Hurricane Sandy
Failed retrieving data.When rebuilding no longer means recovery: the stress of staying put after Hurricane Sandy
Failed retrieving data.Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of Success for Female Radiology Researchers : An Analysis of In-Depth Interviews With Nationally Recognized Leaders of the Field
Failed retrieving data.Housing Transitions and Recovery of Older Adults following Hurricane Sandy
Failed retrieving data.Support for vector control strategies in the United States during the Zika outbreak in 2016 : The role of risk perception, knowledge, and confidence in government
Failed retrieving data.How the US Population Engaged with and Prioritized Sources of Information about the Emerging Zika Virus in 2016
Failed retrieving data.The Fight for Affordable Rental Housing in 1980s New York : A Tenants’ Association’s Anticonversion Stance
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