Meg Gerrard

Meg Gerrard is a Research Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut, affiliated with the Center for Health Intervention and Prevention in Storrs. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin (1974). Her research program integrates social psychology frameworks with health behavior studies, focusing on vulnerability pathways in substance use, racial discrimination effects, and epigenetic influences across developmental stages.

Primary research domains include:

• Health risk behaviors (tobacco/alcohol use) in adolescent and young adult populations
• Psychosocial impacts of racial discrimination on African American health outcomes
• Epigenetic biomarkers linking stress to accelerated aging
• Prevention-focused intervention strategies

Her recent publications demonstrate strong emphases on:

• Longitudinal effects of childhood adversity on epigenetic aging
• Racial discrimination as a mediator of substance use disparities
• Biomarker development for substance use detection
• Social determinants of health behavior in marginalized groups

Mentorship activities include advising graduate students in health psychology and social psychology research. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses covering Applications of Social Psychology Theories and Health Psychology.