Michelle R. Kaufman

MICHELLE R. KAUFMAN is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Health, Behavior and Society. She holds primary affiliations with the International Health Joint Division, Health Systems Center, and multiple interdisciplinary centers including the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation and the Center for Global Women’s Health and Gender Equity. Her research focuses on technology-driven interventions to reduce health disparities, particularly among vulnerable populations such as LGBTQ communities, adolescents, and women in global health contexts.

Education: PhD (2009) and MA (2006) in Social Psychology from the University of Connecticut. She has conducted fieldwork in sub-Saharan Africa, South/Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the U.S., with recent emphasis on AI applications in health equity and gender mainstreaming in health data systems.

Research interests span gender, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, substance use, mental health, and youth mentoring. Notable projects include the Fataki campaign against cross-generational sex in Tanzania and formative research for HIV mobile health interventions targeting African American youth. Her work integrates digital tools like mHealth and social media analytics to address health inequities.

Key awards include 2024 APA Div. 9 Fellowship, 2023 APA Div. 35 Fellowship, and a Fulbright Research Fellowship (Nepal, 2007-2008). She directs the Gender Equity Unit under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Publications (selected 15): Focus on mentorship’s role in substance use prevention, AI in health equity, Reddit analysis of Euphoria’s portrayal of substance use, and global health interventions like VMMC programs. Her work bridges behavioral science, technology, and policy to promote health equity worldwide.