Skip to content
Shannon Monnat

Shannon Monnat

Contact Information:

smmonnat@syr.edu

315.443.2692

426 Eggers Hall

Office Hours:

By Appointment

Shannon Monnat

Professor, Sociology Department


Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Director and Senior Research Associate, Center for Policy Research

Co-Director, Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab

Faculty Affiliate, Aging Studies Institute

Research Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

Courses

  • 2023 Fall
    • SOC 667 Population Processes

Highest degree earned

Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany, 2008

Bio

Shannon Monnat is the Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, director of the Center for Policy Research, and professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Monnat is a rural demographer and population health scholar whose research examines trends and geographic differences in health and mortality, with a special interest in rural health and health disparities. She is a leading national expert on structural and spatial determinants of drug overdose and other deaths of despair. Her most recent research has focused on geographic differences in COVID-19 experiences and impacts.

She has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and she regularly writes policy briefs for non-academic audiences. Monnat has been the PI or co-investigator on externally funded projects totaling over $12 million, including from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Agriculture, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Institute for New Economic Thinking.

She currently leads a NIDA-funded project to examine the effects of state’s COVID-19 mitigation policies on working-age adult psychological well-being, drug overdose, and suicide and co-leads an NIA-funded project on how state policies and county economic conditions have jointly contributed to the large and growing geographic disparities in midlife mortality, psychosocial wellbeing, and health behaviors in the U.S.

Monnat teaches courses in demographic processes and health and place.

Areas of Expertise

Rural demography, social and structural determinants of health and health disparities, spatial differences in morbidity and mortality

Research Grant Awards and Projects

"Network on Life Course Health Dynamics and Disparities in 21st Century America", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"A Next Generation Data Infrastructure to Understand Disparities across the Life Course", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Geographic Trends And Disparities In Psychosocial Wellbeing, Health Behaviors, And Mortality In Midlife", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Enhancing the Utility of the National Wellbeing Survey to Understand Rural-Urban Differences in the Impacts of COVID-19 on Adult Psychological Wellbeing and Substance Use", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Implementing Plans of Safe Care for Pregnant Women and Mothers with Substance Use Disorders", Sponsored by Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

"States' COVID-19 Mitigation Policies and Psychological Health, Drug Overdose, and Suicide among U.S. Adults", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Center for Aging and Policy Studies", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Implementing and Evaluating the Efficacy of a New Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Plan of Safe Care", Sponsored by Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

"Building Drug Intelligence Networks to Combat the Opioid Crisis in Rural Communities: A Collaborative Intelligence-led Policing Strategy", Sponsored by National Institute of Justice/Department of Justice.

"New York Opioid Court Treatment Enhancement Project", Sponsored by Department of Justice.

"Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Aging", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Network on Life Course Health Dynamics and Disparities in 21st Century America", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"Local Initiatives, State Preemption, and Public Health", Sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Understanding Opioid Risks in Rural and Micropolitan Communities: Economic Restructuring, Social Disorganization, and Local Responses", Sponsored by Department of Agriculture.

"Identifying and Informing Strategies for Disrupting Drug Distribution Networks: An Application to Opiate Flows in Pennsylvania", Sponsored by National Institute of Justice/Department of Justice.

"The Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Mortality Disparities and Poverty", Sponsored by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities .

Selected Publications

Presentations and Events

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), "Three Key Demographic Trends Facing Rural America" (November, 2024)

Vanderbilt University Center for Research on Inequality and Health, "States’ COVID-19 Mitigation Policies, Drug Overdoses, and Suicides among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (October, 2024)

NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic COVID-19 Coordinating Center Annual Meeting, "Stability and Volatility in the Contextual Predictors of Working-Age Mortality in the U.S. Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (June, 2024)

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, "States’ COVID-19 Policies and Suicide among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (April, 2024)

University of Washington Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, "States’ COVID-19 Policies, Psychological Wellbeing, and Drug Overdose among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (March 29, 2024)

Population Reference Bureau, "Writing about Population Research for Non-Scientists" (March 21, 2024)

George M. Beal Distinguished Lectureship in Rural Sociology, Iowa State University, "Population Health in Rural America: Contemporary Trends, Causes, and Complexities" (October 30, 2023)

Association of Population Centers Meeting, "Opportunities for Research/Policy Briefs" (September 22, 2023)

Monnat, S. M., Grove, J. G., Rural Sociological Society, "Rural-Urban Differences in Psychosocial Wellbeing among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (August 4, 2023)

Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology, European Society for Rural Sociology, "What Explains the Rural Disadvantage in COVID-19 Deaths during the Delta-Omicron Wave in the United States?" (July 6, 2023)

REVES (Network on Healthy Life Expectancy), "U.S. States’ Physical Distancing Policies and Working-Age Adult Mental Health Outcomes" (May 24, 2023)

Syracuse University COVID-19 and Policy Conference, Syracuse University, "What Explains the Rural Disadvantage in COVID-19 Deaths during the Delta-Omicron Wave?" (May 19, 2023)

Theodore G. Standing Lecture, University at Albany, SUNY, "Places, Policies, and Population Health: Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Long-Term Mortality Trends in Rural America" (April 20, 2023)

Population Association of America , "Associations between States’ COVID-19 Physical Distancing Policies and Working-Age Adult Mental Health Outcomes" (April 13, 2023)

Richmond Fed’s Annual Conference on Investing in Rural America: Connecting What We Know to What We Do: Strengthening Rural Development Strategies through Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, "Rural Health and Health Disparities" (April 11, 2023)

McGill University Centre on Population Dynamics Lecture Series, McGill University Centre on Population Dynamics, "US Rural Population Health in the Context of Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (April 4, 2023)

The Social and Community Consequences of the Opioid Crisis, American Academy of Political and Social Sciences , "Which Demographic Groups and Which Places Have the Highest Overdose Rates?" (March 23, 2023)

Panel on The Opioid Crisis and the Labor Market, Institute for Research on Poverty, "Demographic and Geographic Variation in Drug Overdose in the United States" (November 16, 2022)

NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic COVID-19 Coordinating Center Annual Meeting, "Associations between State's COVID-19 Physical Distancing Policies and Working-Age Adult Mental Health Outcomes" (2022)

Monnat, S. M., Wheeler, D., NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic COVID-19 Conference, "Associations between States' COVID-19 Policies and Mental Health among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (2022)

Controlling the Damage: COVID-19’s Impact on Inequality, American Academy of Political and Social Science and Brookings Institution, "Controlling the Damage: COVID-19’s Impact on Inequality" (2022)

Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, "Demystifying NIH Grants: Funding Mechanisms and the Review Process" (2022)

NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic COVID-19 Coordinating Center Annual Meeting, "Enhancing the Utility of the National Wellbeing Survey to Understand Rural-Urban Differences in the Impacts of COVID-19 on Adult Psychological Wellbeing and Substance Use" (2022)

Policy Symposium - Population Matters: Demography and Wellbeing in Rural America, Rural Population Research Network, "Population Matters: Demography and Wellbeing in Rural America" (2022)

Monnat, S. M., Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, "Rural Population Health in the Context of Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (2022)

Congressional Briefing – Small Towns/Big Trends: Demographic Insights on Living, Working, and Thriving in Rural America, Population Association of America; Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging, "Rural Population Health in the Context of Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (2022)

Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, "Rural Population Health in the Context of Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (2022)

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Population Association of America, "Rural-Urban Variation in COVID-19 Experiences and Impacts among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (2022)

ANNALS Special Issue Authors Conference, "Sociodemographic and Geographic Variation in Drug Overdose Rates in the United States" (2022)

National Opioids and Synthetics Coordination Group Webinar, U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, "Bigger than Opioids: The Social Structural, and Spatial Determinants of the U.S. Overdose Crisis" (2021)

Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, "Disseminating Research to Public Audiences" (2021)

Network on Life Course Health Dynamics and Disparities, "Disseminating Your Research to Non-Academic Audiences" (2021)

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report Release - Public Webinar, "High and Rising Mortality Rates among Working-Age Adults" (2021)

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report Release - Sponsor Briefing, "High and Rising Mortality Rates among Working-Age Adults" (2021)

NIH Rural Health Day Seminar, "Rural Population Health Amidst Recent Public Health Crises: Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (2021)

CUNY Institute for Demographic Research Seminar Series, CUNY Institute for Demographic Research, "Rural Population Health in the Context of Drug Overdoses, COVID-19, and Longer-Term Mortality Trends" (2021)

Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, "Rural-Urban and Within-Rural Differences in COVID-19 Experiences and Impacts" (2021)

Annual Meeting of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, "The Role of Drugs, Alcohol, and Suicide in Shaping Mortality Trends" (2021)

Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, "Trends and Differentials in Working-Age Mortality in the U.S., 1990-2017" (2021)

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, "Trends and Differentials in Working-Age Mortality in the U.S., 1990-2017" (2021)

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "Webinar on Drugs and Alcohol: High and Rising Mortality Rates among Working Age Adults" (2021)

National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative, National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative, "Bigger than Opioids: The Social, Structural, and Spatial Determinants of the U.S. Addiction and Overdose Crisis" (2020)

SU Maxwell Alumni Series, "COVID-19 and Population Health" (2020)

CAPS Annual Meeting, Center for Aging and Policy Studies, "Demographic, Geographic, and Temporal Trends in Mortality from Drugs, Alcohol, and Suicide among U.S. Working-Age Adults" (2020)

Institute for New Economic Thinking , Institute for New Economic Thinking, "Thinking about COVID-19 within the Context of Already Troubling U.S. Health and Mortality Trends" (2020)

Institute for New Economic Thinking Young Scholar Initiative, Institute for New Economic Thinking Young Scholar Initiative, "Three Big Questions for Economists" (2020)

Maxwell Advisory Board Meeting, Maxwell Advisory Board, "A Demographer’s Take on the U.S. Life Expectancy Problem" (2019)

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, "Assessing Supply and Demand-Side Factors to Explain Geographic Variation in U.S. Drug Mortality Rates" (2019)

Conference on Addressing Stigma and the Social Determinants of Opioid Use Disorder, Bennington College, "Bigger than Opioids: The Social Determinants of Drug Overdose and Related Despair" (2019)

Central Region Provider Showcase & Reducing Isolation Conference, "Bigger than Opioids: The Social Determinants of Drug Overdose and Related Despair in the U.S. and New York State" (2019)

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, "Deaths of Despair’ and Geographic Differences in Mortality" (2019)

Alcohol Research Group, "Demographic and Geographic Variation in Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Mortality in the U.S" (2019)

UCLA Luskin School, "Demographic and Geographic Variation in Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Mortality in the U.S." (2019)

Institute for Research on Poverty Annual Poverty Research and Policy Forum, "Developing an Agenda for Policy, Practice, and Research" (2019)

Maxwell Alumni Dinner, "Opioids and Despair in America: A Conversation with a Syracuse Scholar Expert" (2019)

Annual Meeting of the European Society for Rural Sociology, European Society for Rural Sociology, "Rural-Urban Differences in the U.S.’s Multiple Opioid Overdose Crises" (2019)

Institute for New Economic Thinking Global Partners Council Annual Meeting, "Supply or Demand? Understanding the Geography of the U.S. Opioid Problem?" (2019)

Prescribing an American Tragedy: A Symposium on Opioid Misuse in the U.S., Purdue University, "The Geography of the Opioid Crisis" (2019)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, "Understanding the Geography of the U.S. Opioid Crisis" (2019)

Cornell University Symposium on Differential Privacy in the 2020 Census, "US Census Differential Privacy: Research Concerns" (2019)

SUPA Project Advance, "Using the Sociological Perspective to Understand the Opioid Crisis and other Contemporary Social Problems" (2019)

Tax the Rich! A Conference on Why and How, "What Killed Hope in America" (2019)

Tax the Rich! A Conference on Why and How, "What Killed Hope in America" (2019)

Honors and Accolades

Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence - Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction, Syracuse University: One University Awards (2023)

Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award, Syracuse University (2022)