Alexis R. Santos , Ph.D.

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. I am a Demographic Data Fellow for the Administrative Data Accelerator, where we are using administrative records to answer policy relevant questions. I will be involved in studies that leverage vital statistics that aid public policy decision-making.  I am also a Research Associate of the Population Research Institute, a center that has been supportive of my research since my arrival to Penn State. I received a Ph.D. in Applied Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio (2012-2015). Before coming to Penn State, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Brooke Army Medical Center (Fort Sam Houston, Texas). I served as Director of Graduate Studies in Applied Demography at the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State University between 2015-2018. Before moving to San Antonio, I completed a M.A. in Economics at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (2012) and a B.A. in Economics at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (2010), where I also completed all the coursework for the Minor in Statistics in 2012. I was born in Hartford, CT to Puerto Rican parents who returned to Puerto Rico in 1990. I was raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico in a female headed-household. I went to elementary school in the Paula Mojica Elementary School, and completed the rest of my education at Academia Cristo the los Milagros. Some of my non-academic interests include: music, history, salsa, reading Snoopy, board games, and writing to my elected officers to discuss social issues.