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Epidemiology
Kristen Beyer, PhD, MPH, MS

Kirsten Beyer, PhD, MPH, MS

Professor, Division of Epidemiology; Director, PhD Program in Public & Community Health; Co-Director, Global Health Pathway; Co-Director, GEO Shared Resource; Adjunct Associate Professor, Geography, UW-Milwaukee

Contact Information

Education

BA, Integrated International Studies, Knox College
MPH, Global Health, University of Iowa
PhD, Geography, University of Iowa
MS, CTSI Epidemiology Track, 91ɫƵ

Biography

Dr. Kirsten Beyer is on the faculty in the Division of Epidemiology in the Institute for Health & Equity.

Dr. Beyer’s work focuses on the intersection of health, place, and social justice. Her research passion is to identify environmental and systematic causes of health disparities, and to apply a translational research framework, including community engaged research, to move research findings into program and policy interventions to close the gaps.  While her interest in social justice has early roots, her specialization in geography and public health stems from her undergraduate focus on international studies, her work in the nonprofit sector after college, and her graduate work in global health, geospatial analysis, and health disparities.

Dr. Beyer received her PhD in Geography and her MPH in Global Health from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She joined 91ɫƵ in 2009 as an Instructor and a Fellow in the Primary Care Research Fellowship.  She was particularly interested in 91ɫƵ because of its demonstrated investment in community engagement and translational research, its new (at that time) PhD program in public and community health, and the potential for strong mentorship from talented senior faculty. During her postdoctoral work, she also earned a master’s degree in clinical and translational science, with a focus on epidemiology. Dr. Beyer was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2011.

Dr. Beyer’s current research focuses on the impacts of neighborhood environmental characteristics such as residential racial segregation and green space on cancer outcomes, particularly through pathways that include stress, time spent outdoors, social interaction, and food and physical activity behaviors. Dr. Beyer’s work includes disease mapping, social and spatial epidemiology, and mixed methods approaches that aim to identify spatial patterns of disease and injury and understand the complex human-environment processes that create them. Her goal is to conduct research that leads to the development of community-based interventions and policies to reduce health disparities. Her primary research project (NIH R01CA214805) is focused on the contemporary problems of institutional racism and residential racial segregation, and investigates whether these social structures contribute to the magnitude of racial and ethnic breast cancer survival disparities. The project uses a community engaged research framework that draws upon existing partnerships with community organizations in Milwaukee, WI, which often tops the list of America’s most segregated cities.

Dr. Beyer is a member of the 91ɫƵ Cancer Center, the Comprehensive Injury Research Center, the Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. She holds an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, serves as the Associate Director for the PhD Program in Public and Community Health, and is an External Examiner at the Makerere University School of Public Health in Kampala, Uganda. Dr. Beyer is currently on the leadership team for the 91ɫƵ Cancer Center Community Advisory Board and serves as the academic co-chair of the Prevention and Healthy Communities workgroup of the Board. Dr. Beyer mentors PhD, masters, and medical students, and teaches in the PhD program in public and community health. She is the Chair of the 91ɫƵ Environmental Sustainability Committee, serves on the Global Health Council, and is currently the Vice-Chair for the Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. She received the Emerging Scholar award from the HMGSG in 2016.

In her free time, Dr. Beyer spends time with her family, outdoors, enjoying music, and traveling.

Honors and Awards

2016, Emerging Scholar Award, Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers

Research Experience

  • Community Medicine
  • epidemiology
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Geography
  • Health Behavior
  • Maps
  • Participatory research
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Social Change
  • Social Justice
  • Spatial Behavior
  • Violence

Methodologies and Techniques

  • Cluster Analysis
  • Epidemiologic Measurements
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Models, Statistical

Research Interests

GETOutside
Researching increased time outdoors and reduced symptom burdens of breast cancer survivors

Breast Cancer, Race, and Place
Researching the effects breast cancer from women living in Milwaukee and it's surrounding counties

Publications

  • (Halada S, Beyer KM, Zhou Y, Weston BW.) J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2024 Dec;33(12):108093 PMID: 39461451 PMCID: PMC11570335 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85208216709 10/27/2024

  • (Turcotte LM, Wang T, Beyer KM, Cole SW, Spellman SR, Allbee-Johnson M, Williams E, Zhou Y, Verneris MR, Rizzo JD, Knight JM.) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jul 23;121(30):e2404108121 PMID: 39008669 PMCID: PMC11287259 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85199015473 07/15/2024

  • (Rademacher N, Zhou Y, McGinley EL, Laud PW, Yen TWF, Ponce SB, Nattinger AB, Beyer KMM.) Cancer Med. 2024 Jul;13(14):e7397 PMID: 39030995 PMCID: PMC11258551 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85199018217 07/20/2024

  • (Kabanda R, Kiconco A, Ronald A, Beyer KMM, John SA.) BMC Womens Health. 2024 Jun 06;24(1):328 PMID: 38844991 PMCID: PMC11155118 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85195368700 06/07/2024

  • (Richardson AS, Dubowitz T, Beyer KMM, Zhou Y, Kershaw KN, Duck W, Ye F, Beckman R, Gordon-Larsen P, Shikany JM, Kiefe C.) AJPM Focus. 2024 Jun;3(3):100209 PMID: 38590394 PMCID: PMC10999814 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85189763268 04/09/2024

  • (Kabanda R, Kiconco A, Ronald A, Beyer KMM, John SA.) BMC Womens Health. 2024 May 18;24(1):296 PMID: 38762723 PMCID: PMC11102156 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85193486268 05/19/2024

  • (Lara ST, Rein LE, Simanek AM, Totoraitis MF, Rausch DJ, Weston BW, Ahn KW, Meurer JR, Beyer KMM.) Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2024 May 01;43(5):437-443 PMID: 38241639 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85191103877 01/19/2024

  • (Bikomeye JC, Awoyinka I, Kwarteng JL, Beyer AM, Rine S, Beyer KMM.) Heart Lung Circ. 2024 May;33(5):576-604 PMID: 38184426 PMCID: PMC11144115 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85181809389 01/07/2024

  • (Anyanwu C, Bikomeye JC, Beyer KM.) J Glob Health. 2024 Mar 01;14:04003 PMID: 38419464 PMCID: PMC10902803 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85186742927 02/29/2024

  • (Awoyinka I, Tovar M, Young S, Beyer K, Kwarteng J, Knight J, Stolley M.) Support Care Cancer. 2024 Feb 21;32(3):178 PMID: 38381216 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85185668818 02/21/2024

  • (Anumolu N, Bojang M, Mulamira P, Jankowski C, Lechleitner K, Abunike S, Kasasa S, Lukande R, Niyonzima N, Beyer K.) Journal of Global Health Reports. 2024;8 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85183393969 01/01/2024

  • (Anyanwu C, Beyer KMM.) Social Sciences and Humanities Open. January 2024;9 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85185576932 01/01/2024