Dr. Sharon Stein Merkin

Email: sharonm@gertner.health.gov.il

Phone: 03-773-1408

Position: Senior Researcher

Research Interests: The associations between biological, social and psychological factors and cardio-metabolic risk and disease. Dr. Merkin has focused on health disparities research and in particular, assessing the social determinants of cardiovascular disease health across sociodemographic populations in Israeli and international datasets. In conjunction with these efforts, Dr. Merkin in involved with implementing and evaluating intergenerational programs that are aimed at utilizing findings and applying them to interventions that mitigate and prevent disease progression. Dr. Merkin has had extensive experience in analyzing data from a variety of studies, including complex, longitudinal data from community-based multi-center studies, and maintains several international research collaborations in the United States and Europe.

Education:

2003, Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA

1999, Masters of Health Science (MHS), Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA

1996, Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Affiliations:

Senior Researcher, Population Health Center, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel

Adjunct Professor, Division of Geriatrics, UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA

Research Grants & Awards: 

Lifecourse Socioeconomic Status and Cumulative Allostatic Load (USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health); Principal Investigator

System dynamics in aging physiological systems: Implications of burnout, reactivity, and recovery USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health; Co-Investigator

Interdisciplinary Research Network on Early Adversity & Later Life Reversibility (NIH/NIA U24); Co-Investigator

Cardiovascular Health Effects of the Great Recession (NIH/NIA R01); Co-Investigator

Biomarker Cross-Calibration to Investigate International Health Inequalities (NIH/NIA R01); Co-Investigator

LIfestory Learning Project (Pilot, Eisner Foundation Intergenerational Programs at UCLA); Principal Investigator

Publications: 

Here is a link to the list of publications of Dr. Sharon Stein Merkin