Kirsten Beyer

Dr. Kirsten Beyer is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology & Social Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), serving as Director of the PhD Program in Public and Community Health, Co-Director of the Global Health Pathway, and Co-Director of the Geospatial, Epidemiology and Outcomes Shared Resource (GEOSR). She holds an adjunct appointment in Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Beyer earned her PhD in Geography and MPH in Global Health from the University of Iowa, followed by a master’s in Clinical and Translational Science at MCW.

Her research focuses on health equity, environmental justice, and structural racism’s impact on health disparities. Key areas include urban greenspace benefits, redlining effects on health outcomes, and community-driven solutions to climate change and systemic racism. She collaborates globally, with projects in Milwaukee and Africa, funded by NIH, EPA, and NSF. Her work bridges geospatial analysis with policy interventions to achieve health equity.

• Education: BA in Integrated International Studies (Knox College), MPH (U Iowa), PhD (U Iowa Geography), MS in CTSI Epidemiology (MCW)

Dr. Beyer mentors students across disciplines and teaches in MCW’s Global Health Equity program. Awards include the MCW President’s Community Engagement Award and Milwaukee Biz Times Researcher of the Year. Her recent studies examine breast cancer outcomes linked to greenspace, mortgage lending bias, and historical redlining’s legacy on health metrics.

Her lab (GEOSR) supports interdisciplinary research, combining GIS, spatial analysis, and community engagement. Current projects explore cardiovascular co-morbidities in cancer survivors and cervical cancer screening barriers in Uganda. She advocates for dual-purpose interventions addressing both climate change and health equity.