Danya Keene

Danya Keene is an Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), specializing in housing policy and health equity. She holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar. Her research examines how racially discriminatory housing policies exacerbate health disparities, particularly focusing on evictions, rental assistance, and the intersection of housing instability with diabetes and other chronic conditions.

Education:

• PhD, University of Michigan (2009)
• MAT, Johns Hopkins University (2001)
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar, University of Pennsylvania (2013)

Research Focus: Dr. Keene’s work bridges housing policy and population health equity. Key themes include:

• Eviction’s health consequences
• Racial inequities in housing access
• Rental assistance programs’ impact on diabetes management
• Criminal justice system impacts on housing stability

Recent Publications Trends: Her 2023-2024 work emphasizes housing policy as a public health intervention, showing rental assistance improves diabetes outcomes and food security while mitigating eviction-related trauma. Scoping reviews highlight eviction’s systemic health effects across demographics.

Awards: 2017 YSPH Distinguished Mentor Award for fostering student success in health equity research.

Grants & Leadership: Principal Investigator on the Affordable Housing and Diabetes study (2020–2025). Founded YSPH’s U.S. Health Justice Concentration and leads the Housing and Health Equity Lab.

Labs/Teams: Co-directs the Housing and Health Equity Lab and collaborates with Yale’s Diabetes Research Center on housing-health linkages.