Natalie Slopen

Natalie Slopen, ScD, is an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an affiliated faculty member at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Previously, she served six years on the faculty in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Maryland, College Park, School of Public Health. As a social epidemiologist, Dr. Slopen works on a range of studies on topics related to the social and structural determinants of children’s health and health disparities across the life course. Her research has focused on the role of socioeconomic disadvantage, racism, housing, and other adverse experiences for children’s mental and physical health outcomes. Using integrated perspectives and methods from epidemiology, psychology, sociology, and medicine, Dr. Slopen is particularly interested in identifying modifiable social and structural determinants of health inequities to inform systemic intervention priorities addressing disparities in children’s well-being. Dr. Slopen is a member of the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment, and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. In 2019, Dr. Slopen served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that produced Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity.