Faculty & Staff

Samantha Lawrence, PhD

Post-Doctoral Fellow
slawrenc@umn.edu

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health

PhD, University of Connecticut, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Storrs, CT

MA, University of Connecticut, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Storrs, CT

Samantha E. Lawrence, Ph.D., earned her doctorate from the University of Connecticut in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and now works at the University of Minnesota as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health.

Broadly, Dr. Lawrence’s research focuses on social determinants of health and health behaviors among adolescents and young adults—especially LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults—from an intersectional perspective. Using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methodologies, her work to date has examined marginalized young people’s experiences of identity-based stigma in family and school contexts, including how they relate to health and health risk behaviors (e.g., disordered eating, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, sexual risk behaviors). Dr. Lawrence’s work also considers the protective role of identity-supportive school environments and interpersonal relationships.

Dr. Lawrence has mentored 17 research assistants and taught several undergraduate courses related to health and human development, including Research Methods in Human Development and Family Sciences, Diversity Issues in Human Development, and Human Development: Infancy through Adolescence. She has received university-wide recognition for her teaching and mentorship, including the Office of Undergraduate Research Mentorship Excellence Award and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award,both from the University of Connecticut.

Learn more about Dr. Lawrence’s research, funding, and teaching here.

Luke Muentner, PhD, MSW

Post-Doctoral Candidate
muent001@umn.edu
Post-Doctoral Candidate, Department of Pediatrics

PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison's Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, Madison, WI

MSW, University of Wisconsin-Madison's Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, Madison, WI

Luke Muentner, PhD, MSW, earned his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work in 2021 where he also earned his MSW. His work centers on the collateral consequences that incarceration, community reentry, and justice reform have for children and families. For example, Luke’s dissertation provided a rigorous mixed methods examination of family reunification and changes in children’s well-being when incarcerated parents are released from prison. Besides his dissertation work, he has assisted on a number of relevant research projects including designing, implementing, and evaluating a community-based intervention for fathers recently released from jail and prison; analyzing the impact of COVID-19 in jails; and evaluating a trial of educational materials for young children with incarcerated parents. Luke has social work practice experience providing case management to men reintegrating into the community following their release from prison, facilitating individualized and group peer support sessions for men navigating reentry, supporting a youth advisory board made up of adolescents with incarcerated parents, and engaging in grassroots community organizing efforts for criminal justice reform. Additionally, he has independently taught advanced-level undergraduate seminars on policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.