David R. Williams

Address:
Harvard School of Public Health
Kresge Bldg
677 Huntington Ave
Boston MA 02115

Phone: 617 432 6807
Fax: 617 432 3755
Email: dwilliam@hsph

Courses   |   Biography  |   Recent Publications |   Curriculum Vitae

Courses

Biography

Dr. David R. Williams, is the Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology at Harvard University. His first 6 years as a faculty member were at Yale University where he held appointments in both Sociology and Public Health. The next 14 years were at the University of Michigan where he served as the Harold Cruse Collegiate Professor of Sociology, a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute of Social Research and a Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health . He holds a master's degree in public health from Loma Linda University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan.

He is an internationally recognized authority on social influences on health. His research has focused on trends and determinants of socioeconomic and racial disparities in health, the effects of racism on health and the ways in which religious involvement can affect health. He is the author of more than 150 scholarly papers in scientific journals and edited collections and his research has appeared in leading journals in sociology, psychology, medicine, public health and epidemiology. He has served as a member of the editorial board of 8 scientific journals and as a reviewer for more than 50 others. According to ISI Essential Science Indicators, he was one of the Top 10 Most Cited Researchers in the Social Sciences during the decade 1995 to 2005. The Journal of Black Issues in Higher Education, ranked him as the 2nd Most Cited Black Scholar in the Social Sciences in 2006. In 2001, he was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2004, he received one of the inaugural Decade of Behavior Research Awards and in 2007, he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He has been involved in the development of health policy at the national level in the U.S. He has served a on the Department of Health and Human Services' National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and on six panels for the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He has held elected and appointed positions in professional organizations, such as the American Sociological Association, Academy Health and the American Public Health Association. Currently, he is a member of the of the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health.

His current research includes studying the health of Black Caribbean immigrants in the U.S. , examining how race-related stressors (racial discrimination in the U.S. and exposure to torture during Apartheid in South Africa ) can affect health, and assessing the ways in which religious involvement is related to health.

Recent Publications

Williams, D.R., and Sternthal, M. “Spirituality, Religion and Health: Evidence and Research Directions.” Medical Journal of Australia , 186(10 Suppl):S47-S50 (2007).

Williams, D.R., Jackson , J., González, H.M., Neighbors, H., Nesse, R., Abelson, J.M., and Sweetman, J. “Prevalence and Distribution of Major Depressive Disorder in African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites.” Archives of General Psychiatry, 64 (3): 305-315 (2007).

Williams, D.R., Haile, R., Gonzalez, H., Neighbors, H., Baser, R., and Jackson , J.S., “The Mental Health of Black Caribbean Immigrants: Results from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL).” American Journal of Public Health, 97 (1): 57-59 (2007).

Williams, D.R., and Jackson , P.B. “Social Sources of Racial Disparities in Health.” Health Affairs 24(2):325-334 (2005).

Williams, D.R. “The Health of U.S. Racial and Ethnic Populations.” Journal of Gerontology: Series B . 60B(Special Issue II): 53-62 (2005).

Musick, M.A., House, J.S., and Williams, D.R. “Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality in a National Sample.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior , 45(2):198-213 (2004).

Williams, D.R. “The Health of Men: Structured Inequalities and Opportunities.” American Journal of Public Health 93(5):724-731 (2003).

Williams, D.R., Neighbors, H.W., and Jackson , J.S. “Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings from Community Studies.” American Journal of Public Health 93(2): 200-208 (2003).

Williams, D.R. & Collins, C. "Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health." Public Health Reports . 116 (September/October 2001): 404-416 (2001).

Williams, D.R. “Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health: The Added Effects of Racism and Discrimination.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences . 896:173-188 (1999).

Williams, D.R., Griffith , E.E.H., Young, J., Collins, C., and Dodson, J. “Structure and Provision of Services in New Haven Black Churches.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. 5(2):118-133 (1999).

Williams, D.R. “Race and Health: Basic Questions, Emerging Directions.” Annals of Epidemiology. 7(5):322-333 (1997).

Williams, D.R., Yu, Y., Jackson , J.S., and Anderson , N.B. “Racial Differences in Physical and Mental Health: Socioeconomic Status, Stress, and Discrimination.” Journal of Health Psychology. 2(3):335-351 (1997).

Williams, D.R. “Racism and Health: A Research Agenda.” Ethnicity and Disease , 6(1,2):1-6 (1996).

Williams, D.R. and Collins, C. “ U.S. Socioeconomic and Racial Differences in Health: Patterns and Explanations.” Annual Review of Sociology . 21:349-386 (1995).

Williams, D.R. “The Measurement of Religion in Epidemiologic Studies: Problems and Prospects.” J.S. Levin (ed.), Religious Factors in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers . Sage. Pp. 125-148 (1994).

Williams, D.R., Takeuchi, D., and Adair, R. “Socioeconomic Status and Psychiatric Disorder Among Black and Whites.” Social Forces 71:179-194 (1992).

Williams, D.R. “Socioeconomic Differentials in Health: A Review and Redirection.” Social Psychology Quarterly , 53:81-99 (1990).

Curriculum Vitae

David R. Williams (in progress)