People

Summer Sherburne Hawkins is a social epidemiologist with an interest in addressing policy-relevant research questions in women’s and children’s health. Her research examines the impact of policies on health disparities in parents and children, particularly using methodology that integrates epidemiology and economics. She uses applied econometric techniques to evaluate natural experiments created through policy changes within and between US states, including substance use policies, reproductive health-related policies, breastfeeding policies, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Professor Hawkins has published in prominent peer-reviewed public health journals on the topics of tobacco and cannabis use, maternal morbidity and mortality, infant feeding practices, and preventive health services as well as the impact of state policies on disparities in these health behaviors and outcomes.

In addition to her roles at Boston College, she is also co-chair of the SACRU Working Group 6 on Gender Equity in the University and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Prior to joining BCSSW, Professor Hawkins was a Cohort 7 Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009-2011

Timothy Karcz comes to the GPHCG program after serving as Assistant Director for the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at BC. He manages the day-to-day operations of the program related to academics, programming and communications. Prior to coming to BC, Tim worked as a Project Support Officer for an international public health organization working on projects in Latin America and Africa. He holds an MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College and a BA in Environmental Science with a focus in Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.