NEH Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Lehigh University.

Dr. Lasker joined the Lehigh faculty in 1981 after teaching at Brown and Bucknell Universities. She has served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology, and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She is co-founder of the Community Fellows program, which places masters students in community agencies to carry out research and community development projects. In conjunction with graduate students, she has carried out research in the Lehigh Valley on topics such as predictors of low birth weight, community attitudes toward the Bethworks Now development, and evaluations of the Community Exchange program and of services provided by New Bethany Ministries. Lasker’s major area of interest in both teaching and research is in the field of medical sociology, with particular emphasis on women’s health issues, AIDS, and international health. Dr. Lasker was co-principal investigator on NIH-funded studies of pregnancy loss and of the relationship of social change to heart disease mortality. The Perinatal Grief Scale, developed as part of the study of pregnancy loss, is now being used in research projects around the world. She is currently studying the impact of autoimmune liver disease and liver transplantation on women and families. Her publications on these and other topics have appeared in two co-authored books as well as sociology, psychology, and public health journals. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University.

<--Back