About Us
The Piper Lab for Health & Justice is based at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia. Directed by Dr. Kaitlin Piper, PhD, the lab is powered by a team of staff, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers who share a commitment to advancing health equity and social justice through rigorous, community-driven science.
We believe that research should do more than generate knowledge—it should drive change. Our team works alongside communities, practitioners, and policymakers to understand and address the structural conditions that shape health and opportunity. From the criminal legal system to behavioral health services, our work examines how systems and policies impact families, youth, and communities that have been historically marginalized.
Our Focus Areas
1. Expanding access to mental health care
We work to increase access to quality, culturally responsive mental health services in under-resourced and marginalized communities.
2. Supporting families impacted by the criminal legal system
Our research centers the wellbeing and resilience of families navigating incarceration, reentry, and system involvement.
3. Understanding how policies shape health
We examine how local, state, and federal policies influence health, equity, and opportunity — particularly for marginalized populations.
4. Building community power in research
We co-create projects with community partners to ensure research reflects lived experiences and community-defined priorities.
5. Translating evidence into action
We bridge research and practice, working to move effective interventions, programs, and policies from the shelf into communities.
