Mary Willis
Profiles

Mary Willis, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-3728
Talbot
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Biography

Mary D. Willis, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health. Her expertise lies at the intersection of environmental epidemiology, spatial exposure assessment, and applied data science. Much of her work also leverages econometric-based causal inference methods. She is particularly interested in how epidemiological studies can be best designed to inform health-protective policy decisions. To date, Dr. Willis has primarily focused on how on exposures from the energy sector (e.g., oil and gas development, traffic-related air pollution) and other aspects of the built environment (e.g., green space, neighborhood disadvantage) influence reproductive health outcomes.

Dr. Willis is PI of an NIH Director’s Early Independence Award that examines how oil and gas development may impact fertility and pregnancy. She is also a co-investigator on an accountability study of vehicle emission regulations and birth outcomes that is funded by the Health Effects Institute.

Education

  • Oregon State University, PhD Field of Study: Public Health
  • University of Rochester, MPH Field of Study: Public Health - Epidemiology
  • University of Rochester, BA Field of Study: Epidemiology/Environmental Studies

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHEP857
  • SPHEP911
  • SPHEP912

Publications

  • Published on 11/20/2025

    Thombs RP, Willis MD. Impact of oil and gas boom and busts on working-age mortality in the U.S. Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Dec; 9(6):e438. PMID: 41282511.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/1/2025

    Buonocore JJ, Mooney FA, Campbell EJ, Sousa B, van Loenen B, Fabian MP, Nori-Sarma A, Willis MD. High populations near fossil fuel energy infrastructure across the supply chain and implications for an equitable energy transition. Environ Res Lett. 2025 Nov 01; 20(11):114093. PMID: 41255873.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/23/2025

    Wesselink AK, Willis MD, Lovett SM, Sheng C, Kuohung W, Hicks J, Peters JL, Sheehy S, Palmer JR, Wise LA, Cozier Y. Neighborhood disadvantage and fecundability in a cohort of US Black women. Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Dec; 9(6):e428. PMID: 41140319.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/17/2025

    Willis MD, Cesare N, Harleman M, Black-Ingersoll F, Gradus JL, Thombs R, Oblath R, Buonocore JJ, Welch BM, Casey JA, Braun D, Dominici F, Nori-Sarma A. IMPACT OF BOOM-AND-BUST ECONOMIES FROM OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ON PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATIONS AMONG MEDICAID BENEFICIARIES. Environ Res Health. 2025 Sep; 3(3). PMID: 41099011.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/10/2025

    Vrkljan KA, Oblath R, Black-Ingersoll F, Grady ST, Burrows K, Fabian MP, Parker SE, Nori-Sarma A, Willis MD. A Case-Crossover Study of Extreme Heat and Psychiatric Emergency Encounters Among Vulnerable Pregnant People. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2025 Aug; 39(6):571-581. PMID: 40641135.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/22/2025

    Campbell EJ, Koenig MR, Mooney FA, Clark CJ, González DJX, Deziel NC, Casey JA, Buonocore JJ, Willis MD. A Narrative Review of Spatial-Temporal Data Sources for Estimating Population-Level Exposures to Oil and Gas Development in the United States. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2025 Apr 22; 12(1):21. PMID: 40263220.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/4/2025

    Sims KD, Glymour MM, Ncube CN, Willis MD. Invited commentary: improving spatial exposure data for everyone-life-course social context and ascertaining residential history. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 04; 194(3):573-577. PMID: 39098825.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/24/2025

    Soni M, Arunachalam S, Ramarao MVS, Efstathiou CI, Rick C, Buckley L, Dinesh C, Willis M, Perera F, Kinney P, Levy JI, Buonocore J. A high resolution multipollutant assessment of health damages due to the onroad sector in Boston, Massachusetts. Sci Total Environ. 2025 Mar 15; 969:178847. PMID: 39999703.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/1/2025

    Hystad P, Willis M, Hill E, Schrank D, Molitor J, Larkin A, Ritz B. Impacts of Vehicle Emission Regulations and Local Congestion Policies on Birth Outcomes Associated with Traffic Air Pollution. Res Rep Health Eff Inst. 2025 Feb; 2025(223):1-88. PMID: 40191931.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/28/2025

    Wesselink AK, Johannesen BR, Wang TR, Ketzel M, Mikkelsen EM, Brandt J, Khan J, Hertel O, Laursen ASD, Willis MD, Levy JI, Rothman KJ, Sørensen HT, Wise LA, Hatch EE. Residential Exposure to PM2.5 Constituents and Fecundability in a Danish Preconception Cohort. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2025 Mar; 39(3):256-261. PMID: 39876487.

     Read At: PubMed

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