Rebecca M Schwartz, PhD

Dr. Rebecca Schwartz is an Associate Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy and in the Institute for Translational Epidemiology (part-time) as well as an Associate Professor at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in the Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention. She is trained as a clinical psychologist and behavioral epidemiologist and, as such, her primary area of research interest lies in the intersection between mental health and physical health outcomes, particularly as it applies to ethnic minority and marginalized populations. Dr. Schwartz has a particular interest in how trauma experiences affect health and mental health outcomes, with a focus on individuals with chronic illnesses such as HIV. She has been a lead investigator on numerous federally and privately funded population-based studies that focus specifically on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on mental health. Another area of interest is on understanding and improving mental health and quality of life needs among early stage lung cancer patients. She also has a strong background in program design and evaluation with an emphasis on the measurement of psychosocial factors and the implementation and evaluation of community- and clinic-based programs with psychosocial components.