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Associate Professor
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Rebecca Schwartz, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health. She is also an Associate Investigator in the Institute of Health System Science at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. She is trained as a clinical research psychologist and her primary research interest lies in the intersection between trauma exposure and mental health outcomes, particularly as it applies to underserved and marginalized populations. Throughout her career, Dr. Schwartz has amassed experience as a lead investigator conducting research involving the impact of trauma on PTSD and other mental health outcomes in both the context of natural disasters, COVID-19, the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, and among people living with HIV (PLWH) and at-risk populations. She has a particular interest in understanding the role of trauma and PTSD on adherence and engagement in medical care among PLWH. Further, as a PI on multiple federally and foundationally funded large-scale studies involving the impact of Hurricanes Sandy and Harvey on mental health outcomes, she gained expertise in developing, implementing and evaluating community-based research on traumatized populations. More recently, she initiated and now co-leads a research consortium focused on understanding the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Northwell Health System healthcare providers and will use the data to inform intervention development and implementation. As the Director of Research and Evaluation within the Center for Traumatic Stress, Resilience and Recovery, she is also leading efforts to evaluate the efficacy of various programs and initiatives aimed at reducing traumatic stress and promoting resilience among community members, patients and healthcare workers.