Dr. Amanda Birnbaum is Professor in the department of Public Health at Montclair State University, received her PhD from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and her MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Working from a social ecological perspective, Dr. Birnbaum combines quantitative and qualitative methods to understand and improve social environmental factors, such as neighborhood and school environments, as they relate to health behaviors. Of particular interest is how these questions can be tailored to serve communities that historically have been marginalized and have not received equitable benefits from applied research.

Dr. Birnbaum has collaborated on the development and evaluation of local and national initiatives to promote healthier eating and physical activity among families and communities, working with partners such as the Healthy Children Healthy Futures initiative, Partners for Health Foundation, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation. More recently, she has begun research collaborations in the area of sexual violence on college campuses and in communities.

Dr. Birnbaum is a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Health Behavior, Health Behavior and Policy Review, and International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. She is an active mentor of public health professionals across the career span, and in 2015 received the National Academic Advising Association’s Outstanding Faculty Advising Award.