W. Marcus Lambert, PhD
Associate Vice President for Research Strategy and Operations, Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Academic Qualifications:
- PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
- MS in Clinical Epidemiology, Weill Cornell Graduate School
Background and Expertise:
Dr. Marcus Lambert is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Associate Vice President for Research Strategy & Operations for the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University campus. In this role, Dr. Lambert focuses on initiatives to expand Downstate’s extramurally funded research portfolio, particularly focusing on health disparities and public health research and training. Dr. Lambert is also contact PI of the TRANSlational Program Of health disparities Research Training (TRANSPORT), a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to form a translational health disparities research program, with a focus on recruiting and training underrepresented minority scientists.
Prior to SUNY Downstate, Dr. Lambert was Assistant Dean of Diversity and Student Life and Assistant Professor of Education Research in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he led a $2.4 million NIH-funded Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) Program to increase the number and enhance the success of Ph.D. students from underrepresented backgrounds. Dr. Lambert is a member of such national boards as Cell Press’ Rising Black Scientists Award Academic Advisory Board and a member of NIH/NIGMS’ Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity Study Section. Dr. Lambert received his Ph.D. in biomedical science from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and his B.S. from Howard University. He also holds an M.S. in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research from Weill Cornell Graduate School.
Research Interests:
Dr. Lambert is an expert in scientific workforce diversity. Trained in both biomedical and epidemiological research methodology, his research efforts focus on educational interventions that impact the scientific workforce, health inequities and individuals from historically excluded communities. Dr. Lambert’s research group has examined the career goals of over 1300 postdoctoral researchers and the factors that influence commitment to or divergence from conventional academic research careers. His group proposes a model whereby motivations for academic careers are strengthened or weakened through self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and values during the postdoctoral training period, resulting in career goal persistence or the changing of a career intention.
Dr. Lambert also seeks to understand disparities across the scientific and public health training pipeline as one approach to achieving health equity and improving population health. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, his group provides trainees, mentors and academic institutions with data that can be used to improve the academic training path and retain undergraduate, graduate, and postdoc trainees in the STEM and public health workforce.