Public Health & Safety

Public health and safety issues affect every person, every day, and through their research and expansive knowledge of emerging trends, Penn State experts are available to share their insights on the latest issues impacting people's lives.

  • Abenaa Jones

    Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Health and Human Development

    Health & Medicine

  • Jennifer Van Hook

    Director, Population Research Institute

    Social Sciences, Politics & Policy

  • Jonathan Ivy

    Associate Professor of Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education

    Social Sciences

  • Weston Kensinger

    Associate Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State Harrisburg

    Health & Medicine

  • Sarah Horvath

    Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

    Health & Medicine

  • Eileen Ahlin

    Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    Criminal Justice

Penn State has a wide range of experts looking at issues like substance use disorder, reproductive rights, gun violence and mass shootings.

Our experts are experienced in speaking with journalists to explain these complex issues to a general audience.

  • We have multiple faculty members studying all aspects of substance use and misuse, including why people use substances and engage in other risky behaviors, and racial and gender disparities in substance abuse and misuse treatment.
  • Faculty members study how gun violence affects communities and how the media covers these issues.
  • Our medical doctors can discuss reproductive health care and miscarriage management, including access to reproductive health services and the effects of the SCOTUS Dobbs decision and its impact on patients and medical residents.
Abenaa Jones

Abenaa Jones

Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Health and Human Development,
Assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies

Expertise:

  • Health & Medicine

Focus Areas:

  • Substance Abuse
  • Drug Addiction

Contact Abenaa Jones with questions about: the opioid epidemic and how racial differences affect opioid overdose educational training and administration of overdose reversal drugs, and the prevalence of opioid use in inner cities and racial/ethnic differences in opioid use.

Jennifer Van Hook

Jennifer Van Hook

Director, Population Research Institute,
Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography

Expertise

  • Social Sciences
  • Politics & Policy

Focus Areas:

  • Demography
  • Population Research

Contact Jennifer Van Hook with questions about: Settlement and incorporation patterns of U.S. immigrants and social, economic, and health assimilation of immigrants and their descendants.

Jonathan Ivy

Jonathan Ivy

Associate Professor of Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education

Expertise:

  • Social Sciences

Focus Areas:

  • Psychology
  • Media Coverage of Mass Shootings

In The Media:

Contact Jonathan Ivy with questions about: how the media can cover mass shootings in a responsible way.

Weston Kensinger

Weston Kensinger

Associate Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State Harrisburg,
Director, Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research

Expertise

  • Health & Medicine

Focus Areas:

  • Substance Abuse

Contact Weston Kensinger with questions about: with questions about Addiction, Opioid Epidemic, Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse, High-Risk Health Behaviors

Sarah Horvath

Sarah Horvath

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Expertise:

  • Health & Medicine

Focus Areas:

  • Health Policy
  • Reproductive Health

Contact Sarah Horvath with questions about: reproductive rights and health, including the safety of and access to mifepristone.

Eileen Ahlin

Eileen Ahlin

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

Expertise

  • Criminal Justice

Focus Areas:

  • Institutional and Community Corrections
  • Violence and Victimization
  • Race and Ethnicity

Contact Eileen Ahlin with questions about: risk and protective factors associated with exposure to community violence and violent behaviors.

Need help finding an expert?

Penn State expertise spans far beyond those that we have currently featured on the site. Call us at 814-865-7517 or contact a member of the media relations staff

Go to top