Jennifer Karas Montez

University Professor, Professor of Sociology, and Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs Link

Director, Center for Aging and Policy Studies
Faculty Associate, Aging Studies Institute
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies
Senior Research Affiliate, Center for Policy Research

CAPS Biography:

Jennifer Karas Montez is a Professor of Sociology, the Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies, Director of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, and Co-Director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab at Syracuse University. Her research relates to the CAPS signature theme of health and well-being, as well as the cross-cutting themes of policy, place, and specific populations. Her research investigates trends and disparities in population health since the 1980s and the growing influence of U.S. state policies and politics on those outcomes. A major focus of this work is to explain why health trends are particularly worrisome for women, for people without a college degree, and for those living in states in the South and Midwest. Her research on these topics has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, BBC, NPR, and CNN. It has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, and National Science Foundation. Montez earned a PhD in Sociology with a Demography Specialization from the University of Texas at Austin and did her postdoctoral training as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University.

Degree(s):

Ph.D., Sociology (Demography Specialization), University of Texas at Austin