Discipline(s):
Sociology, Demography

Area(s) of Expertise:
Health Disparities, Social Demography, Social Stratification & Mobility, Quantitative Methods

E-Mail:
colen.3@sociology.osu.edu

Background:
Cynthia Colen is a social demographer whose research focuses on the production and intergenerational reproduction of racial and ethnic health disparities, especially as they relate to women’s reproductive wellbeing and perinatal outcomes. She received an M.P.H. (1998) and a Ph.D. (2005) in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan. She was also a predoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center. Dr. Colen’s dissertation examined the extent to which upwardly mobile African American and White women in the United States are able to translate their newfound socioeconomic status into beneficial maternal and infant health outcomes. Another area of interest involves exploring patterns of reliance and sources of resiliency within extended kinship networks among members of marginalized populations. As a Health and Society Scholar, Dr. Colen is investigating the linkages between residential segregation, restricted returns to educational investments, and excess rates of morbidity and mortality among poor and nonpoor African Americans.

Journal Articles:
Click here for a list of Cynthia Colen's available publications in PubMed.