Jennifer Karas Montez

Jennifer Karas Montez is a Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University, affiliated with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Women's and Gender Studies, and Applied Statistics. Her work focuses on demography, political economy, and population health, with a particular emphasis on how state policies influence health disparities, mortality, and life expectancy. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and has extensive expertise in public health policy analysis, quantitative methods, and interdisciplinary research.

Her research highlights the critical role of state-level policies in shaping health outcomes, including studies on preemption laws, electoral democracy, and the impact of political polarization on mortality rates. Key findings include widening educational disparities in health and longevity, the association between state policies and reduced infant mortality, and the link between conservative policy environments and higher working-age mortality.

• Educational Background:
  • Ph.D., Sociology, University of Texas at Austin (2011)
  • M.A., Sociology, University of Houston (2004)
  • M.S., Statistics, Purdue University (1994)
  • B.S., Mathematics, Purdue University (1992)

Montez has secured significant grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including projects on geographic disparities in mortality, the impact of state policies during the pandemic, and the dynamics of health disparities in 21st-century America. Her awards include the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and recognition for distinguished scholarship in population studies.

Her media engagements include high-profile features in The Washington Post, Scientific American, and NPR, discussing how state policies directly affect life expectancy and health outcomes. She serves as a leader in academic organizations, including president of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science and editor roles for journals like Demography and the Milbank Quarterly.