Melody Goodman

Dean, School of Global Public Health

Professor of Biostatistics

Professional overview

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

Publications

Nonparametric diagnostic test for conditional logistic regression

Perceived familiarity with and importance of family health history among a medically underserved population

Quantitative assessment of participant knowledge and evaluation of participant satisfaction in the CARES training program

Relationship between perceived racial composition and health literacy among community health center patients

Relationship between self-reported racial composition of high school and health literacy among community health center patients

Self-reported segregation experience throughout the life course and its association with adequate health literacy

Validation of self-reported measures in health disparities research

Weight perceptions and perceived risk for diabetes and heart disease among overweight and obese women, Suffolk County, New York, 2008

Age differences in genetic knowledge, health literacy and causal beliefs for health conditions

Detecting multiple change points in piecewise constant hazard functions

Survey study of anesthesiologists' and surgeons' ordering of unnecessary preoperative laboratory tests

Comparison of small-area analysis techniques for estimating prevalence by race

Hepatitis B vaccination of male neonates and autism diagnosis, NHIS 1997-2002

Increasing research literacy in minority communities: CARES fellows training program

Does "off-hours" admission affect burn patient outcome?

Psychosocial stress and 13-year BMI change among blacks: The pitt county study

Hepatitis B triple series vaccine and developmental disability in US children aged 1-9 years

An evaluation of multiple behavioral risk factors for cancer in a working class, multi-ethnic population

Attitudes regarding overweight, exercise, and health among Blacks (United States)