Monica L. Wang, ScD, MS is globally and nationally recognized as a leading health equity 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 (school desegregation) student who lived in Boston and commuted to a wealthy, predominantly White suburb profoundly shaped her decision to pursue a career as a health equity researcher committed to improving the health of children and families.
Today, Dr. Wang directs community-engaged research to target racial inequities in obesity and chronic diseases and cultivates multisectoral collaborations to implement data-driven health policies and programs. 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 through youth narratives.
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, spouse to a physician, and mom of two energetic children.
