Kerith Jane Conron

Kerith Jane Conron is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also an Affiliated Researcher at the Carolina Population Center. Previously, she served as the Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar and Research Director at the Williams Institute UCLA School of Law (2016–2024).

Education: ScD in Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health (2007), MPH from Boston University School of Public Health (1997), BA in Sociology from Mary Washington College (1994).

Research Focus: Dr. Conron specializes in reducing health inequities affecting LGBTQ populations through population-based studies. Her work emphasizes socioeconomic pathways of stigma, LGBTQ data collection on health surveys, and policy-relevant research on issues like conversion therapy bans and firearm access. She has pioneered studies on transgender individuals, LGBTQ wealth disparities, and federal student loan debt impacts.

Grants & Collaborations: Co-Principal Investigator for the NICHD/NIMHD-funded SOGI-SES study at UNC, analyzing sexual orientation/gender identity, SES, and health across lifespans. Collaborates with the Carolina Population Center and Williams Institute.

Awards: Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar (UCLA).

Teaching: Taught Social Epidemiology at Northeastern University and guest lectures at UNC Gillings and Boston University. Co-Directed the NIH-funded Summer Institute in LGBT Population Health Research.

Labs/Teams: Carolina Population Center (UNC), Williams Institute (UCLA), and Gillings Innovation Labs.