S. Bryn Austin

S. Bryn Austin is a Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She holds the S. Jean Emans, MD, Endowed Chair in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on health inequities, particularly among socially marginalized adolescents, with an emphasis on eating disorders prevention and LGBTQ+ health disparities. She leads the STRIPED initiative, the first public health-focused eating disorders prevention program, and the SOGIE Collaborative, addressing sexual orientation and gender identity disparities.

Dr. Austin’s work is funded by NIH grants and other agencies, and she has authored numerous publications on topics such as disordered eating, body image, and policy translation. She serves on editorial boards of journals like the International Journal of Eating Disorders and has held leadership roles in organizations such as the Academy for Eating Disorders and the Eating Disorders Coalition. Her mentorship and advocacy aim to advance health equity through transdisciplinary research and policy change.

Key achievements include pioneering research on structural racism’s impact on health outcomes, policy advocacy for dietary supplement regulation, and interventions to reduce disparities in healthcare access for marginalized groups. Her research spans global contexts, including studies in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, addressing cultural and media influences on body image.

Dr. Austin’s grants and awards reflect her leadership in public health and her commitment to bridging research with actionable policies. She continues to shape the field through training programs, policy fellowships, and collaborative initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities worldwide.