Nancy Adler

Nancy Elinor Adler (July 26, 1946 – January 4, 2024) was an American health psychologist. She was the Lisa and John Pritzker Professor of Medical Psychology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and director of UCSF's Center for Health and Community Sciences. Adler was known for her research on health behaviors, health disparities, and social determinants of health.

Adler was the director of the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health from its foundation to December 1996. She was the director of the Evidence for Action (E4A), a UCSF health program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Biography Adler was born in Manhattan on July 26, 1946. Adler interviewed women before and after having a therapeutic abortion (a pregnancy termination for medical reasons such as fetal abnormalities, as opposed to one for non-medical reasons such as financial worries). She found that women's reactions were generally positive and reflective of healthy coping strategies. Adler has chaired multiple NAM committees and workshops on subjects including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, sexually transmitted diseases, psychosocial treatments for cancer patients, and women's health.

Research Adler was best known for her research demonstrating that people with more education and higher incomes, as well as a belief that they have higher social status than others, are healthier and live longer than less privileged people. and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

Adler received the APA Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology in 2009. The award cited her "research on reproductive health examining adolescent decision-making with regard to contraception, conscious and preconscious motivations for pregnancy, and perception of risk for sexually transmitted diseases, and for her groundbreaking insights into the importance of psychological processes in explaining why socioeconomic status is associated with physical health." Other awards include:

J. Michael McGinnis Leadership Excellence Award from the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (2020) New York Academy of Medicine's Academy Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Biomedical Science (2017) APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award (2013) APA Newman-Proshansky Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Population Psychology (2011) NAM David Rall Medal (2010)

Personal life In 1975, Adler married Arnold Milstein. and had two daughters, Julia and Sarah, together.

Adler died of pancreatic cancer on January 4, 2024, at age 77.

Selected works Adler, N. E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M. A., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R. L., & Syme, S. L. (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: the challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist, 49(1), 15–24. Adler, N. E., Epel, E. S., Castellazzo, G., & Ickovics, J. R. (2000). Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: Preliminary data in healthy, White women. Health Psychology, 19(6), 586–592. Adler, N. E., & Newman, K. (2002). Socioeconomic disparities in health: pathways and policies. Health Affairs, 21(2), 60–76. Adler, N. E., & Ostrove, J. M. (1999). Socioeconomic status and health: what we know and what we don't. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896(1), 3–15. Adler, N. E., & Snibbe, A. C. (2003). The role of psychosocial processes in explaining the gradient between socioeconomic status and health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(4), 119–123. Adler, N. J., Den Hartog, D. N., & Knippenberg, D. V. (2008). Introduction to special topic forum: Current research on mergers and acquisitions: Stakes, outcomes, and integration. Journal of Management, 34(3), 469–478.