She is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Brigham Young University in the USA and an adjunct professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. Her research focuses on social connections and their long-term effects on health, biological mechanisms and working on effective strategies to promote social connections. Her research has been instrumental in demonstrating that social isolation and loneliness are risk factors for early mortality.
She is the Director of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the US Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness and a scientific advisor to multisectoral organisations on this issue.

Last updated: December 2021