Shannon M. Monnat , Ph.D.

Shannon Monnat is Professor of Sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She received her PhD in Sociology at the State University of New York at Albany in 2008. Prior to her appointment at Syracuse University, she was a faculty member for five years at University of Nevada Las Vegas and for four years at Penn State University. Dr. Monnat is also a Fellow with the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. As a scholar of social inequality and social demography, Dr. Monnat’s research examines the correlates and consequences of social disadvantage, particularly at the intersections of place, public policy, and health. A common theme binding much of her work is a concern for rural people and places. Her current research focuses on spatial differences in opioid misuse and mortality and other diseases and deaths of despair. In another line of research, she examines associations between various social and public health policies and health behaviors and health care access. She has published in a wide range of journals, including Rural Sociology, Preventive Medicine, Demographic Research, Journal of Adolescent Health, and Health & Place and presented her research to key stakeholders, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the National Academy of Sciences, and the USDA. Her research has been widely covered by the media, including CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR.