Quantity Over Quality: Where Does Social Networks Research on Substance Use and Sexual Health Go From Here?

For over four decades, social networks research has represented a key pillar in social epidemiology and intervention science research. However, the social networks research field has not kept pace with the increasingly complex nature of social networks themselves, namely those associated with opioid use and sex. This talk covers new approaches in the field, focusing on community network formulations and qualitative adaptations. 

About Jerel Ezell, Ph.D., MPH

Dr. Jerel Ezell is a social epidemiologist at the University of California Berkeley, and a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Ezell also serves as the Director of the Berkeley Center for Cultural Humility, a multi-disciplinary center focused on trainings around cultural responsiveness in trauma-informed practice, research, and policy. Dr. Ezell's fieldwork and teaching focuses on opioid use in rural and urban ethnic enclaves in America, with an emphasis on risks factors associated with the built environment and mental health. His current projects focus on the racial and ethnic aspects of opioid overdose. Dr. Ezell has written for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and TIME Magazine, among other outlets. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) from the University of Chicago, a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s of Arts (BA) in anthropology from the University of Michigan.