40 Under 40 Leaders in Health, National Minority Quality Forum, 2023
40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst, Boston Congress of Public Health, 2023
Leading the Narrative Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2022
Excellence in Public Health Practice, BU School of Public Health, 2021
Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Award, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, 2018
Early Career Investigator Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2016
Excellence in Teaching Award, BU School of Public Health, 2016
Monica L. Wang, ScD, MS is globally recognized and award-winning public health thought leader, researcher, and educator. She is an Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her experiences as a bussing student who lived in Boston and commuted to a wealthy suburb profoundly shaped her decision to pursue a career committed to improving the health of children and families.
Today, Dr. Wang directs research in the areas of chronic disease prevention and management, health communication, and health misinformation. Her work cultivates multisectoral collaborations to implement data-driven health policies and programs to improve health outcomes. She has generated over $6 million in federal and foundation grants and over $1.5 million in gifts for her program of work, including an NIH-funded randomized controlled trial of a youth empowerment intervention to reduce consumption of sugary drinks and obesity risk.
As an innovative educator with formal training in case-based teaching and online education, she has taught graduate courses (in-person, hybrid, and online) on the social determinants of health at Harvard University and Boston University since 2010.
She has received numerous national, regional, and institutional awards for her research, teaching, and service. At the national level, she advances science communication initiatives through her role as former Chair and current member of the Civic and Public Engagement Committee of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She received her Doctor of Science and Master of Science from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed her postdoctoral training from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is an avid runner, artist, baker, wife to a physician, and mom of two energetic children.