Carolyn Halpern, MA, PhD

Carolyn Halpern, MA, PhD, is professor and chair of the Department of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is a developmental psychologist and served as the deputy director of the Waves IV and V National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health program projects from 2006 to 2020. She is currently the co-PI of the NIH funded project “Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity, Socioeconomic Status, and Health Across the Life Course. Her research interests center on improving understanding of healthy sexual development and the implications of adolescent experiences for developmental and demographic processes into adulthood. Her most recent work focuses on identifying the mechanisms that underlie health disparities among sexually diverse populations, and disparities linked to gender expression. She has more than 30 years of research experience in the study of adolescent and young adult sexuality in both U.S. and global settings. She has authored/co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed publications and 17 book chapters on these topics. Dr. Halpern has received multiple university-wide and national awards for mentoring and academic leadership.