Dr. Amelia Greiner Safi is a social and behavioral scientist with expertise in multilevel influences on health, strategic public health communication, health disparities and intervention planning.  A common thread in her work is translational work – linking research to practice and policy. For the past 15 years, Dr. Safi participated in and led collaborative, multidisciplinary, and engaged research. She has often served as a bridge across disciplines, professions to find common interests in order to advance health and environmental outcomes. Much of this work has a health disparities, vulnerability or equity focus.

Dr. Safi’s current research and engaged public health work falls into 7 domains. They each involve multidisciplinary teams, and many involve non-academic collaborators as core research team members

1. Cancer Disparities (Screening and Outcomes)
2. Flooding, Buyouts, Sustainability and Social Vulnerability
3. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Perceptions and Behavior Change
4. Consulting re Strategic Public Health Communication
5. Identifying and Addressing Discrimination in Healthcare
6. Creating Workforce Development Trainings and Public Education about Public Health, Research Methods, Strategic Communication and Behavior Change
7. Warning Labels on Cigarettes and E-cigarettes (PIs Byrne and Niederdeppe)

Past activities have included providing insight from the social and behavioral sciences to a convening of the Rockefeller/Lancet partnership to advance the field of Planetary Health. At the UN Ocean Conference in June of 2017, she served on a panel with journalists to blend science and practice to improve ocean literacy, with the ultimate goal of advancing progress on Sustainable Development Goal #14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. From 2007-2015, Dr. Safi was involved in evaluating Baltimore City first zoning code rewrite in over 40 years, with a focus of identifying how a zoning rewrite could be as health promoting as possible and documented the opportunities and challenges of linking urban planning and public health, with particular attention to health disparities. This work informed a Health Impact Assessment of the zoning rewrite funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This HIA along with extensive collaboration with and independent efforts from fellow researchers, NGOs, community organizations, local government and residents helped lead to the inclusion of current health considerations in the zoning rewrite. She has led CDC-funded research to evaluate a detailing campaign to improve HIV screening practices among primary care providers in Baltimore (PI: Jacky Jennings). In assessing the intersection of media, public health and ecosystem health, Dr. Safi evaluated how various news media outlets present risk and benefits of seafood consumption in response to seafood advisories and after disasters such as the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

• Ph.D. – 2011 – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
• M.S. - 2006- Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• B.A. - English, Minor: Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN

• 2017 - Associate Professor of Practice - Master of Public Health Program, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University
• 2015 - Senior Research Associate – Department of Communication, Cornell University
• 2013-2015 - Research Associate Faculty – Department of Pediatrics Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• 2012-2013 - Assistant Professor – Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy;  Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
• 2011-2012 - Lead Consultant – "Reducing crime through transform Baltimore’s comprehensive rezoning: the public health case for addressing nonconforming liquor stores" Johns Hopkins Center for Child and Community Health Research
• 2007-2012 - Public Health Liaison and Technical Editor – Biohabitats, Baltimore, MD

Complete list of peer reviewed publications:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/amelia.safi.1/bibliography/public/

Selected publications:

• Shi L, Fisher A*, Morgenstern Brenner R, Corsi P, Fernandes P, Greiner Safi A, Shepard C, and Jamie Vanucchi J (submitted for review)  Equitable Buyouts? Learning from State, County, and Local Floodplain Management Programs. Climatic Change

• Greiner Safi A, Kalaji M*, Avery R., Mathios A., Dorf M., Byrne S, Niederdeppe, J. (under review) Examining Perceptions of Uncertain Language in Potential E-Cigarette Warning Labels: Results from 16 Focus Groups with Adult Tobacco Users and Youth. Health Communication

• Schell, R; Bulut, E; Padda, H; Greiner Safi, A; Moroni, P; Ivanek, R (under review) Responsible antibiotic use labeling and consumers’ willingness to buy and pay for fluid milk. Journal of Dairy Science.

• American Mosquito Control Association. 2021. Best Practices for Integrated Mosquito Management. American Mosquito Control Association. Sacramento, CA. Steering Committee Lead for Community Engagement Section. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.mosquito.org/resource/resmgr/docs/publications/hr_november_2021_amca_bmp_ma.pdf.

• January 2021. Conceptualized, drafted, designed and recorded 18 training videos with the MPH Program and eCornell as part of Governor’s New York State Public Health Fellows and Citizen Public Health Training Programs. https://ecornell.cornell.edu/nyspublichealth/

• Barrett JR, Innes GK, Johnson KA, Lhermie G, Ivanek R, Greiner Safi A, Lansing D (2021) Consumer perceptions of antimicrobial use in animal agriculture in the United States, Canada, and the European Union: A scoping review. PLOS One. Dec 8;16(12):e0261010. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261010

• Padda, H*., Wemette, M*., Safi, A. G., Beauvais, W., Shapiro, M. A., Moroni, P., & Ivanek, R. (2021). New York State dairy veterinarians’ perceptions of antibiotic use and resistance: A qualitative interview study. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 194. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2021.105428

• Wemette, M*., Greiner Safi, A., Wolverton, A.K., Beauvais, W., Shapiro, M., Moroni, P., Welcome, F., Ivanek, R. (2021). Public Perceptions of Antibiotic Use on Dairy Farms in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science. 104(3):2807-2821.  https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17673

• Wemette, M*., Greiner Safi, A., Beauvais, W., Ceres, K., Shapiro, M., Moroni, P., Welcome, F.L., & Ivanek, R. (2020) New York State Dairy Farmers’ Perceptions of Antibiotic Use and Resistance: A Qualitative Interview Study. PLOS ONE 15(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232937

• Greiner Safi, A., Reyes, C.B*., Jesch, E.*, Steinhardt, J., Niederdeppe, J., Skurka, C., Kalaji, M., Scolere, L., & Byrne, S.  (2019) Comparing in person vs internet methods to recruit low-SES populations for tobacco control policy research. Social Science and Medicine. 242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112597

• Byrne, S., Greiner Safi, A., Mathios, A., Avery, R. Dorf, M., Kemp, D., Skurka, C., Davydova, Y., Scolere, L., Steinhardt, J., & Niederdeppe, J.  (2019) Effects of Varying Color, Imagery, and Text of Cigarette Package Warning Labels among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Middle School Youth and Adult Smokers, Health Communication, 34(3): 306-316. 10.1080/10410236.2017.1407228

• Greiner Safi, A., Perin, J., Mantsios, A., Schumacher, C., Chaulk, P., & Jennings, J. (2017) The Protect Baltimore Campaign: Evaluating a public health detailing program designed to increase routine HIV screening. Public Health Reports Vol. 132(6): 609-616. http://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/waIi79TWMrjICSY7GW6x/full.

• 2022, Top Four Papers Distinction in the Division of Health Communication. International Communication Association 72nd Annual Conference. Paris, France

• February 2022, Cornell Center for Social Sciences Grant Writing Development Program Award

• May 2021, Featured Scholar, Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute, Cornell University

• 2019 – present, Invited Member, Health Communication Research Initiative

• 2017 – present, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future Faculty Fellow                  

• 2013, Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore Health Impact Assessment recognized as a model HIA from the Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment (SOPHIA) https://sophia.wildapricot.org/model-hia-reports

• 2006 – 2011, Sommer Scholar, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (this is one of the most prestigious awards JHSPH gives to new doctoral students: full tuition and stipend for 5 years without TA or RA obligation)

• 2002, Phi Beta Kappa, Gustavus Adolphus College

Selected engaged affiliations:

• 2021 – present, Co-Investigator and consultant to Dr. Eloise Chapman (Associate Professor of Gynecology-Oncology Weill Cornell) for the Evaluation of Patient Activated Learning System (PALS) Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination Education Pre-Post Intervention. Guide study design, recruitment of, follow up with and qualitative interviews with Cornell students aged 18-26
• 2021- present, Founding member, B-VOGUE (Black Voices about Gynecologic Cancers: Understanding Experiences) a partnership among oncologists (Onyinye Balogun, Radhika Gogoi), public health and social work researchers (Gleneara Bates-Pappas, Tiffany Younger), gynecological cancer quality improvement (Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium), cancer survivors (Amanda Itliong, Nefa-Tari Moore), research advocates (Kimberly Richardson) and cancer support groups (Gilda’s Club of Detroit and SHARE) from across United States to understand Black experiences of Gynecologic cancer in order to improve outcomes, reduce disparities and influence medical education and practice.
• 2020 – present, Invited member, Removing Structural Barriers to Cancer Screening Work Group of the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Steering Committee. This work is part of the New York State Prevention Agenda (2019- 2014) Prevent Chronic Diseases Action Plan. Workgroup members include Tompkins County Health Department, Cayuga Health Partners, Cancer Resource Center and Cayuga Medical Center.
• 2020 – present, Consultant, Communication Strategy for Cayuga Health Systems DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiative
• 2020 – present, Member, FIRM (Fighting Institutional Racism in Medicine)- a group of medical providers and public health researchers and practitioners addressing structural racism and discrimination in Tompkins County health care
• 2020 – present,  Advisor to Steering Committee for Cayuga Health Partners Comprehensive Plan for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
• 2020 – present, Advisor to Addressing Social Determinants of Health Through Policy & Partnerships leadership team (PIs: Lara Parilla & Jamila Michener) funded by CCHEq (Cornell Center for Health Equity)
• 2019 – present, Advisor to REACH Medical (harm reduction medical practice in Ithaca) for implementation of HRSA Rural Health Equity Training Collaborative (RHETC)

Professional memberships:

• 2021 – present, Member, Graduate Field of Public Health and Ecosystem Health
• 2020 – present, Member, QuIRI (Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute), Cornell University
• 2020 – present, Faculty Affiliate, Cornell Center for Social Science
• 2020 – present, Faculty Affiliate, Center for the Study of Inequality, Cornell University
• 2020 – present, Faculty Affiliate, Population Center, Cornell University
• 2018 – present, Member, Cornell Center for Health Equity
• 2018 – present, Member, International Communication Association
• 2016 – present, Member, Graduate Field of Communication
• 2006 – present, Member, American Public Health Association
• 2016 – 2018, Member, Climate Change/Flood Risk Work Group, Cornell