Melody Goodman

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Dean, School of Global Public Health

Professor of Biostatistics

Dr. Melody S. Goodman is a biostatistician and research methodologist. Her work is anchored upon moving beyond defining problems and focuses on developing solutions using partner-engaged research approaches. Dr. Goodman’s research efforts seek to develop a more rigorous understanding of the social risk factors contributing to urban health outcomes. Her work aims to develop solutions for improving health in high-risk populations. She conducts translational research that bridges the gap between research and practice. Through rigorous attention to study design, measurement, and the use of cutting-edge statistical analysis methods, her contributions have spanned the areas of prevention, treatment, intervention, and policy.

Dr. Goodman led the team that developed and comprehensively evaluated the Research Engagement Survey Tool, a quantitative survey measure to assess the level of partner engagement in research studies from the non-academic partner perspective. With numerous funders supporting her work (e.g., National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Verizon Foundation, Long Island Community Foundation, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Susan G. Komen), she has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and two books (2018 Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group): 1) Public Health Research Methods for Partnerships and Practice and 2) Biostatistics for Clinical and Public Health Research, which now has a second edition (2026 Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group). She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, New York Academy of Medicine, and the inaugural recipient of the Societal Impact Award from the Caucus for Women in Statistics.

Education

BS, Economics and Applied Mathematics & Statistics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY

MS, Biostatistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

PhD, Biostatistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Honors and awards

Fellow, American Statistical Association (2021)

Societal Impact Award, Caucus for Women in Statistics (2021)

Network Builder Award, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections (2019)

Siteman Cancer Center “Rock Doc” (2013)

Satcher Health Leadership Institute - Morehouse School of Medicine, Community Health Leadership Institute Intensive Cohort II (2013)

Women of the Year - Health, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. - Suffolk Chapter (2010)

President’s Award for Teaching Excellence - Stony Brook University (2009)

President’s Award for Excellence in Team Achievement - Stony Brook University (2008)

Areas of research and study

Biostatistics

Community Health

Community-based Participatory Research

Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-based Programs

Quantitative Research

Publications

A quasi-experimental study of New York City's sodium warning regulation and hypertension prevalence, 2005–2020

Age-specific trends in pregnancy-associated suicide and homicide rates by race/ethnicity, 2005–2021

Importance of Prior Patient Interactions With the Healthcare System to Engaging With Pretest Cancer Genetic Services via Digital Health Tools Among Unaffected Primary Care Patients: Findings From the BRIDGE Trial

Increasing Interest in Data Literacy: The Quantitative Public Health Data Literacy Training Program

Neighborhood characteristics and health literacy: Evidence from the survey of racism and public health

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Genetic Testing Use Among a Nationally Representative Sample of US Adults

Racial Discrimination and Substance Use: Results from a 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health in the United States

Social vulnerability and genetic service utilization among unaffected BRIDGE trial patients with inherited cancer susceptibility

Sociodemographic variation in experiences with medication shortages among US adults

Structural Determinants of Health Literacy Among Formerly Incarcerated Individuals: Insights From the Survey of Racism and Public Health

Working from home is associated with lower odds of inflation stress Among employed US adults in the Household Pulse Survey

A training protocol compliance of 13% was observed in a research study of clinical research professionals

An Immediate but Fleeting Interest in MPH Programs After the Onset of COVID-19: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Application of a Heuristic Framework for Multilevel Interventions to Eliminate the Impact of Unjust Social Processes and Other Harmful Social Determinants of Health

Associations between perceived discrimination over the life course, subjective social status, and health literacy: A racial/ethnic stratification analysis

Associations between subjective social status and predictors of interest in genetic testing among women diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age

Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression for Social Epidemiologic Research

Design and Analytic Methods to Evaluate Multilevel Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities: Rigorous Methods Are Available

Designing for data sharing: Considerations for advancing health equity in data management and dissemination

Detecting univariate, bivariate, and overall effects of drug mixtures using Bayesian kernel machine regression

Determinants of Breast Cancer Screening Adherence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Cohort at Increased Inherited Cancer Risk in the United States

Distal Factors Associated With Proximal Overdose Risk Behaviors and Recent Non-Fatal Overdose Among a Sample of People Who Use Illicit Opioids in New York City

Enhanced family history-based algorithms increase the identification of individuals meeting criteria for genetic testing of hereditary cancer syndromes but would not reduce disparities on their own