Nancy Adler
Nancy Elinor Adler is an American health psychologist. She is 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 is known for her research on health behaviors, health disparities, and social determinants of health. Adler has been the director of the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health since it was founded in December 1996. She is the director of the Evidence for Action (E4A), a UCSF program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  to build a culture of health. Honors and awards. Adler is a fellow of the American Psychological Society (APS) and the American Psychological Association (APA), as well as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 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: Biography. Adler completed her undergraduate studies at Wellesley College, where she conducted research with Claire Zimmerman. She entered the PhD Program in Social Relations at Harvard University in 1968 and was mentored by Herbert Kelman, an expert on social influence and cognitive dissonance. For her 1974 PhD thesis titled "Reactions of Women to Therapeutic Abortion: A Social Psychological Analysis" Adler interviewed women before and after having an abortion. She found that women's reactions were generally positive and reflective of healthy coping strategies. Adler taught at the  University of California, Santa Cruz prior to joining the faculty of UCSF. In 1980, she served a term as the President of Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology (APA Division 34). 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. Adler is married to Arnold Milstein. They have collaborated on research and have two daughters together.