Brian Mayer, PhD

Dr. Brian Mayer is a renowned sociologist whose research focuses on the social production of environmental health risks and the complex intersections of science, policy, and medicine. His work examines how communities identify, contest, and address environmental problems, emphasizing the role of activism and local participation in managing potential health risks. Dr. Mayer received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Brown University in 2006 and was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida before joining the University of Arizona’s School of Sociology. 

 A leader in environmental sociology, Dr. Mayer has conducted influential studies that highlight the power of community-based science. His research consistently seeks to bridge the gap between academic inquiry and real-world impact, empowering communities to play an active role in addressing environmental health challenges. Focusing primarily on questions about building community resilience to disaster, Dr. Mayer’s work highlights how communities can better prepare for, and recover from, crises like climate change, pollution, and intergenerational poverty. 

 Dr. Mayer's recent projects reflect his commitment to collaborative, participatory research. He led a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences-funded study on the long-term psychosocial and community health impacts of the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, revealing how disasters affect the social fabric of affected regions. Another of his projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, explored the interactions between labor and environmental social movement organizations, shedding light on the dynamics of collective action in addressing shared challenges.

Dr. Mayer is also the founding Director of the Tucson Poverty Project (TPP), now in its 10^th year of collecting data on the causes and consequences of intergenerational poverty in Southern Arizona. At core of the TPP is the Poverty in Tucson Field Workshop, a unique experiential learning opportunity for undergraduates to learn about poverty while helping to conduct an annual survey of more than 300 low-income households across Southern Arizona. The TPP has helped identify persistent barriers to building prosperity and supplied data and policy recommendations to community partners like the City of Tucson, Pima County, and multiple nonprofit partners like Habitat for Humanity Tucson and the United Way of Southern Arizona. 

Dr. Mayer’s work has had far-reaching impacts, advancing both the field of environmental sociology and the communities he studies. By combining rigorous qualitative research methods with a deep commitment to social justice, he has illuminated pathways to addressing some of today’s most pressing environmental health challenges.