Lisa-Sullivan
Profiles

Lisa M. Sullivan, PhD

Professor, Biostatistics - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-1489
lsull@bu.edu
Crosstown - 3rd floor
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Biography

Dr. Lisa Sullivan has a PhD in Statistics and is Professor and former chair of the Department of Biostatistics. She has received numerous awards for Excellence in Teaching including Boston University’s prestigious Metcalf Award and the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)/Pfizer Award for Teaching Excellence. She received the Massachusetts ACE National Network of Women Leaders Leadership Award, and the Mosteller Statistician of the Year Award from the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and is a fellow of the ASA. She was the Principal Investigator of the Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics from 2003 to 2015, aimed at fostering interest in biostatistics careers, and she has published several textbooks, Essentials of Biostatistics for Public Health (currently in its 4th edition), Introductory Applied Biostatistics, Biostatistics for Population Health, and Public Health: An Introduction to the Science and Practice of Population Health (currently in its 2nd edition). She also co-edited a book entitled Teaching Public Health which includes a series of papers on state-of-the-science pedagogy in academic public health, designed to support faculty and academic leaders in public health, and Teaching Public Health, Volume 2, was published in 2026. She has also engaged in exciting and impactful research projects, including clinical trials evaluating novel treatments for children with autism, the largest ever prospective cohort study to assess the effect of alcohol consumption in pregnancy and sudden infant death syndrome, and the Framingham Heart Study where she worked as senior biostatistician on numerous interdisciplinary teams on the development and dissemination of risk prediction functions. Most recently, she served as Chair of the ASPPH Framing the Future: Public Health Education 2030 initiative to envision transformative changes in public health education. As part of the same initiative, she also co-chaired the ASPPH Inclusive Excellence through an Anti-Racism Lens Expert Panel that developed recommendations and strategies to address long-standing practices of exclusion and marginalization.

Other Positions

  • Associate Dean for Education - Boston University School of Public Health
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University

Education

  • Boston University, PhD Field of Study: Mathematics
  • Boston University, MA Field of Study: Mathematics
  • University of New Hampshire, BA Field of Study: Mathematics

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHPH702
  • SPHPH715

Publications

  • Published on 6/11/2025

    Bellamy SL, Sullivan LM. Breaking tradition: should biostatistics doctoral qualifying exams evolve to better serve our students' ability to demonstrate readiness to conduct independent research? Front Public Health. 2025; 13:1612530. PMID: 40567965.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/6/2024

    D'Agostino McGowan L, Pencina M, Sullivan L, D'Agostino RB. In Memoriam: Ralph B. D'Agostino, Sr. (1940-2023). Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Mar 06. PMID: 38451245.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/15/2023

    Sullivan LM, Weist EM, Barrington WE, Fairchild AL, Hwang W, Kiviniemi MT, Mohammed SD, Wyant VA, Alexander LA, Magaña L. Education for public health 2030: transformation to meet health needs in a changing world. Front Public Health. 2023; 11:1269272. PMID: 38162596.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/15/2023

    Sullivan LM, Weist EM, Barrington WE, Fairchild AL, Hwang W, Kiviniemi MT, Mohammed SD, Wyant VA, Alexander LA, Magana L. . Education for public health 2030: Transformation to meet health needs in a changing world. Frontiers in Public Health. 2023; (11).
  • Published on 11/15/2023

    Shultz JM, Sullivan LM, Galea S. Public Health: An Introduction to the Science and Practice of Population Health, Second edition. Springer Publishing Company. New York. 2023.
  • Published on 6/15/2023

    Barrington W, Sullivan L, Weist EM, Wyant V, Cardarelli K, Charlemagne-Badal S, Gideonse T, Jackson T, Rasar King L, McGriff J, Pollack Porter K, Robles-Schrader G, Scharff D, Smith MA, St. George DM, Warne D, , Alexander L, Magana, L . Creating an Inclusive Workspace through an Anti-racism Lens, an Example of Consensus Process in Academic Public Health. 2023.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 9/26/2022

    Sullivan LM, Velez AA, Longe N, Larese AM, Galea S. Removing the Graduate Record Examination as an Admissions Requirement Does Not Impact Student Success. Public Health Rev. 2022; 43:1605023. PMID: 36226032.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/27/2022

    Choudhury N, Tiwari A, Wu WJ, Bhandari V, Bhatta L, Bogati B, Citrin D, Halliday S, Khadka S, Marasini N, Pandey S, Ballard M, Rayamazi HJ, Sapkota S, Schwarz R, Sullivan L, Maru D, Thapa A, Maru S. Comparing two data collection methods to track vital events in maternal and child health via community health workers in rural Nepal. Popul Health Metr. 2022 Jul 27; 20(1):16. PMID: 35897038.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/1/2022

    Sullivan, LM, Velez, AA, Longe, N, Larese AM, Galea, S. The impact of removing the GRE as an admissions requirement on student diversity and success. Public Health Reviews. 2022; 43.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 8/2/2021

    Odendaal H, Dukes KA, Elliott AJ, Willinger M, Sullivan LM, Tripp T, Groenewald C, Myers MM, Fifer WP, Angal J, Boyd TK, Burd L, Cotton JB, Folkerth RD, Hankins G, Haynes RL, Hoffman HJ, Jacobs PK, Petersen J, Pini N, Randall BB, Roberts DJ, Robinson F, Sens MA, Van Eerden P, Wright C, Holm IA, Kinney HC. Association of Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Drinking and Smoking With the Risk of Stillbirth. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 08 02; 4(8):e2121726. PMID: 34424306.

     Read At: PubMed

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