Pia M. Mauro, Ph.D., has joined the Rutgers School of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology as an associate professor. She is also a core member of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science (PETS) with the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
Mauro’s research explores the individual and structural factors that shape substance use and mental health treatment needs, availability, utilization, and outcomes across the life course, with a focus on health equity. Her work bridges behavioral health epidemiology, health services, and health policy, drawing on large administrative data sources and applying rigorous epidemiologic methods.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mauro to the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science,” said Vincent Lo Re, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and director of PETS. “Her exemplary research on substance use and mental health treatment is especially timely as our country continues to battle the opioid epidemic. Her expertise will not only strengthen our research portfolio but also help shape innovative approaches to improving population health.”
Currently, Mauro is the principal investigator of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) R01 project examining relationships between community-level exposure to the criminal legal system and substance use treatment-related outcomes. In addition, she serves as a co-investigator on multiple NIDA R01 projects and previously completed a five-year NIDA K01 Career Development Award focused on cannabis laws and substance use disorder treatment.
“We are excited for Dr. Mauro to join the Rutgers School of Public Health,” said Jason Roy, professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. “She is an accomplished scholar, teacher, and mentor, whose transformative research addresses critical issues related to mental health and addiction treatment.”
Mauro has shared her findings with key policy audiences, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape. Additionally, her research has been cited in numerous policy documents and reports and has appeared in major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, U.S. News & World Report, and Forbes.
She also serves as an associate editor of an international research journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and has published more than 80 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, such as JAMA Network Open and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“I’m really looking forward to contributing to the mission of the Rutgers School of Public Health through research, teaching, and mentorship that centers health equity to improve population health,” said Mauro.
Prior to joining Rutgers, she was an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the Substance Use Epidemiology Unit at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Mauro’s substance epidemiology training was supported by NIDA, including a post-doctoral research fellowship at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology, and a doctoral degree from the Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.