

Professor
McGuinn Hall 210
Telephone: 617-552-0945
Email: summer.hawkins@bc.edu
Social Epidemiology; Policy Evaluation; Health Disparities; Tobacco Use; Infant Feeding
Boston College Magazine: Where there's smoke
BCSSW News: What happens when states ban the sale of flavored tobacco products?
BCSSW News: Undergraduate student researchers confront ‘messy reality’ of the real world
Professor Summer Sherburne Hawkins, PhD, MS, joined the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) faculty in 2012. She 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 tobacco control policies, breastfeeding policies, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Dr. Hawkins has published in prominent peer-reviewed public health journals on the topics of tobacco use, infant feeding practices, and preventive health services as well as the impact of state policies on disparities in these health behaviors.
Dr. Hawkins is currently on the editorial boards for BMC Public Health and Maternal and Child Nutrition. Prior to joining BCSSW, Dr. Hawkins was a Cohort 7 Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009-2011.
Hawkins SS, Horvath K, Noble A, Baum CF. ACA and Medicaid expansion increased breast pump claims and breastfeeding for women with public and private insurance. Women’s Health Issues 2022;32(2):114-121. PMID: 34802860.
Hawkins SS, Kruzik C, O’Brien M, Coley RL. Flavored tobacco product restrictions in Massachusetts associated with reductions in adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette use. Tobacco Control doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056159. PMID: 33504582.
Hawkins SS, Wylie BJ, Hacker MR. Associations between electronic nicotine delivery systems and birth outcomes. Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 2021;1-8. PMID: 34030564.
Hawkins SS, Baum CF. Invited commentary: Evaluating intersectionality of policies and populations. Pediatrics 2021;147(5):e2020049586. PMID: 33875538.
Coley RL, Kruzik C, Ghiani M, Carey N, Hawkins SS, Baum CF. Recreational marijuana legalization and adolescent use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. Journal of Adolescent Health 2021; 69(1):41-49. PMID: 33243722.
Hawkins SS, Ghiani M, Harper S, Baum CF, Kaufman JS. Impact of state-level changes on maternal mortality: a population-based, quasi-experimental study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2020;58(2):165-174. PMID: 31859173.
09/2021-08/2023 National Cancer Institute & FDA Center for Tobacco Products (R21CA268199) – titled, Impact analysis of flavor restrictions and tobacco 21 policies on youth tobacco use
Role: PI
06/2021-05/2022 Boston College Schiller Institute Grants for Exploratory Collaborative Scholarship (SIGECS) program – titled, Evaluating the Health Impacts of Disasters on Youth
Role: Co-PI (with Betty Lai)
07/2019-12/2021 American Lung Association Public Policy Research Award (PP- 625245) - titled, Impact of tobacco control and air quality policies on disparities in prenatal smoking and birth outcomes
Role: PI
Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King’s College London, England (09/18-08/20)
K99/R00 recipient – National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 5-year career development award (R00HD068506) (2011-2016)