Tracey Wilson
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology
Human beings need social connection. When people lack real relationships (social isolation) or feel they lack them (loneliness), they manage chronic illness less well, are more prone to depression and substance use disorders, and die earlier.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Social Science
- Topics
social connection
loneliness
social isolation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, last ended Oct 2026
What they work on
- Characterize longitudinal, multidimensional patterns of social connection before and during the COVID era in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, and identify social, behavioral and genomic predictors including polygenic risk scores.
- Test whether substance use disorders and depression mediate the link between patterns of social connection and HIV outcomes such as laboratory disease indices and validated medication adherence measures.
- Assess multilevel mediators and moderators of social connection and health, including area-level poverty and population density drawn from annually updated geocoded participant data.
- Add annual measures of social and emotional loneliness, social isolation and social integration at selected cohort sites, paired with nested longitudinal qualitative interviews, to capture how connection changes over time.
More about the research
People living with HIV carry a heavy burden of loneliness, and weakened social ties have been linked to poorer adherence to HIV medication and lower quality of life. COVID-19 strained relationships further through restrictions and through the loss of family, friends and community, while also exposing how few effective interventions exist to rebuild social connection.
Why it matters
People living with HIV who are isolated or lonely tend to take their medication less consistently and report worse quality of life, yet interventions in this area are scarce and poorly grounded in evidence. By identifying which dimensions of social connection matter, which pathways (such as depression or substance use disorders) carry their effects, and which neighborhood conditions amplify them, this work could point to actionable targets for programs designed to support social connection in this high-priority population.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Deborah R. Gustafson
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology
Investigate cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) health outcomes in people living with HIV, using decades of follow-up data from the Brooklyn site of the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS).
Wendy Lichtenthal
University of Miami, FL·Psychology
Quantify how bereaved parents' social networks change after a child's death, including negative interactions, emotional support, social integration, shared purpose, and network size and composition, through a survey of about 300 parents.
Benjamin Han
University of California-San Diego, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Track social isolation and loneliness at baseline, 6 and 12 months in 150 adults aged 55 or older with opioid use disorder in San Diego County opioid treatment programs, using validated measures.
The school
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: 3 labs on PI Pages, $37M a year on research, 5 research doctorates a year.
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