Biography
Laura Dwyer-Lindgren, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Health Metric Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on quantifying and describing geographic patterns and disparities in health outcomes, and how other types of health disparities are patterned spatially and intersect with place-based disparities. The ultimate goal of this research is to more fully reveal the extent of health disparities, better understand the drivers of these disparities, and to ultimately identify actionable pathways towards more equitable health outcomes. At IHME, Dr. Dwyer-Lindgren leads the US Health Disparities team which focuses on describing levels and trends in burden of disease in the US by county, racial/ethnic group, and socioeconomic status. She also serves as Director of the Master of Science in Health Metrics Sciences program.
Laura received a Master of Public Health degree in Health Metrics and Evaluation from the University of Washington. She later received a PhD in Public Health at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
IHME was established at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2007. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.
Haeuser E, Serfes AL, Cork MA, et al. Mapping age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence in adults in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2018. BMC Medicine. 19 December 2022. doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02639-z.
Reiner RC, LBD Triple Burden Collaborators, Hay SI. The overlapping burden of the three leading causes of disability and death in sub-Saharan African children. Nature Communications. 6 December 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34240-6.
GBD US Health Disparities Collaborators. Life expectancy by county, race, and ethnicity in the USA, 2000–19: a systematic analysis of health disparities. The Lancet. 16 June 2022. doi: 10.1016/ S0140-6736(22)00876-5.
GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators. Fatal police violence by race and state in the USA, 1980-2019: a network meta-regression. The Lancet. 30 September 2021. doi: 10.016/S0140-6736(21)01609-3
GBD 2019 HIV Collaborators. Global, regional, and national sex-specific burden and control of the HIV epidemic, 1990–2019, for 204 countries and territories: the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019. The Lancet HIV. 27 September 2021. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(21)00152-1.
Dieleman JL, Murray CJL, Chen C, Crosby SW, Liu A, McCracken D, Pollock IA, Sahu M, Tsakalos G, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Haakenstad A, Mokdad AH, Roth GA, Scott KW. US Health Care Spending by Race and Ethnicity, 2002-2016. JAMA. 17 August 2021. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.9937.
Bhattacharjee NV, Schaeffer LE, Hay SI, Local Burden of Disease Exclusive Breastfeeding Collaborators. Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018. Nature Human Behaviour. 3 June 2021. doi:.10.1038/s41562-021-01108-6.
Local Burden of Disease HIV Collaborators. Subnational mapping of HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15–49 years in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–18: a modelling study. The Lancet HIV. 1 June 2021. doi:10.1016/S2352-3018(21)00051-5.
Local Burden of Disease HIV Collaborators. Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems. BMC Medicine. 8 January 2021. doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-01876-4.
Cork MA, Wilson KF, Perkins S, et al. Mapping male circumcision for HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Medicine. 7 July 2020. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01635-5.
Local Burden of Disease Child Growth Failure Collaborators. Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries. Nature. 8 January 2020. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1878-8.
Local Burden of Disease Educational Attainment Collaborators. Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries. Nature. 25 December 2019. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1872-1.
Local Burden of Disease 2017 Child Mortality Collaborators. Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant, and child deaths between 2000 and 2017. Nature. 16 October 2019. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1545-0.
Reiner RC, Welgan CA, Casey DC, et al. Identifying residual hotspots and mapping lower respiratory infection morbidity and mortality in African children from 2000 to 2017. Nature Microbiology. 30 September 2019. doi:10.1038/s41564-019-0562-y.
GBD 2017 HIV Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and mortality of HIV, 1980–2017, and forecasts to 2030, for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017. The Lancet HIV. 14 August 2019. doi:10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30196-1.
Bhattacharjee NV, Schaeffer LE, Marczak LB, et al. Mapping exclusive breastfeeding in Africa between 2000 and 2017. Nature Medicine. 22 July 2019. doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0525-0.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Cork MA, Sligar A, et al. Mapping HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2017. Nature. 15 May 2019. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1200-9.
Mosser JF, Gagne-Maynard W, Rao PC, et al. Mapping diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine coverage in Africa, 2000–2016: a spatial and temporal modelling study. The Lancet. 5 April 2019. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30226-0.
Ross JM, Henry NJ, Dwyer-Lindgren LA, de Paula Lobo A, Marinho de Souza F, Biehl MH, Ray SE, Reiner RC, Stubbs RW, Wiens KE, Earl L, Kutz MJ, Bhattacharjee NV, Kyu HH, Naghavi M, Hay SI. Progress toward eliminating TB and HIV deaths in Brazil, 2001–2015: a spatial assessment. BMC Medicine. 6 September 2018. doi:10.1186/s12916-018-1131-6.
El Bcheraoui C, Mokdad AH, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Shirude S, Naghavi M, Murray CJL. Trends and patterns of differences in infectious disease mortality among US counties, 1980–2014. JAMA. 27 March 2018; 319(12):1248-1260. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.2089
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Shirude S, Unützer J, Naghavi M, Murray CJLM. Trends and Patterns of Geographic Variation in Mortality from Substance Use Disorders and Intentional Injuries Among US Counties, 1980-2014. JAMA.
Golding N, Burstein R, Longbottom J, et al. Mapping under-5 and neonatal mortality in Africa, 2000–15: a baseline analysis for the Sustainable Development Goals. The Lancet
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Shirude S, Naghavi M, Mokdad AH, Murray CJL. Trends and patterns of differences in chronic respiratory disease mortality among US counties, 1980–2014. JAMA. 25 Sept 2017; 318(12):1136-1149. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.11747.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Stubbs RW, Bertozzi-Villa A, Morozoff C, Callender C, Finegold SB, Shirude S, Flaxman AD, Laurent A, Kern E, Duchin JS, Fleming D, Mokdad AH, Murray CJL. Variation in life expectancy and mortality by cause among neighborhoods in King County, WA, USA, 1990–2014: a census tract-level analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet Public Health. 5 Sept 2017.
Roth GA, Dwyer-Lindgren, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Naghavi M, Mokdad AH, Murray CJL. Trends and patterns of geographic variation in cardiovascular mortality among US counties, 1980–2014. JAMA. 2017 May 16.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Mackenbach JP, van Lenthe FJ, Mokdad AH, Murray CJL. Inequalities in life expectancy among US counties, 1980 to 2014. JAMA Internal Medicine. 8 May 2017. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.0918.
Mokdad AH, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Fitzmaurice C, Stubbs RW, Bertozzi-Villa A, Morozoff C, Charara R, Allen C, Naghavi M, Murray CJL. Trends and patterns of disparities in cancer mortality among US counties, 1980–2014. JAMA. 2017;317(4):388-406. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.20324.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Bertozzi-Villa A, Stubbs RW, Morozoff C, Kutz MJ, Huynh C, Barber RM, Shackelford KA, Mackenbach JP, van Lenthe FJ, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M, Mokdad AH, Murray CJL. US county-level trends in mortality rates for major causes of death, 1980–2014. JAMA. 2016 Dec. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.13645.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Mackenbach JP, van Lenthe FJ, Flaxman AD, Mokdad AH. Diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes prevalence by county in the US, 1999–2012. Diabetes Care. 2016 August 23; 39:1556–1562. doi: 10.2337/dc16-0678.
Ng M, Colson KE, Fullman N, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Achoki T, Schneider MT, Mulenga P, Hangoma P, Masiye F, Gakidou E. Assessing the contribution of malaria vector control and other maternal and child health interventions in reducing all-cause under-5 mortality in Zambia. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2016 Feb 15. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.15-0315.
Roberts DA, Ng M, Ikilezi G, Gasasira G, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Fullman N, Nalugwa T, Kamya M, Gakidou E. Benchmarking health system performance across regions in Uganda: a systematic analysis of levels and trends in key maternal and child health interventions and outcomes, 1990–2011. BMC Medicine. 2015 December 3;13(285). doi: 10.1186/s12916-015-0518-x.
Wollum A, Burstein R, Fullman N, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Gakidou E. Benchmarking health system performance across states in Nigeria: a systematic analysis of levels and trends in key maternal and child health interventions and outcomes, 2000–2013. BMC Medicine. 2015 2 September.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Flaxman AD, Ng M, Hansen GM, Murray CJL, Mokdad AH. Drinking patterns in US counties from 2002 to 2012. American Journal of Public Health. 2015 April 23; e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302313.
Colson KE, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Achoki T, Fullman N, Schneider M, Mulenga P, Hangoma P, Ng M, Masiye F, Gakidou E. Benchmarking health system performance across districts in Zambia: a systematic analysis of levels and trends in key maternal and child health interventions from 1990 to 2010. BMC Medicine. 2015 April 2. doi: 10.1186/s12916-0150308-5.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Kakungu F, Hangoma P, Ng M, Wang H, Flaxman AD, Masiye F, Gakidou E. Estimation of district-level under-5 mortality in Zambia using birth history data, 1980–2010. Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology. 2014 Oct;11: 89-107. doi: 10.1016/j.sste.2014.09.002.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Mokdad AH, Srebotnjak T, Flaxman AD, Hansen GM, Murray CJL. Cigarette smoking prevalence in US counties: 1996-2012. Population Health Metrics. 2014.
Ng M, Freeman MK, Fleming TD, Robinson M, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Thomson B, Wollum A, Sanman E, Wulf S, Lopez AD, Murray CJL, Gakidou E. Smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption in 187 countries, 1980-2012. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2014; 311(2):183-192. Doi:10.1001/jama.2013.284692.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Gakidou E, Flaxman A, Wang H. Error and bias in under-5 mortality estimates derived from birth histories with small sample sizes. Population Health Metrics. 2013; 11:13.
Dwyer-Lindgren L, Freedman GD, Engell RE, Fleming TR, Lim SS, Murray CJL, Mokdad AH. Prevalence of physical activity and obesity in US counties, 2001-2011: a road map for action. Population Health Metrics. 2013; 11:7.
Wang H*, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Lofgren KT, Rajaratnam JK, Marcus JR, Levin-Rector A, Levitz C, Lopez AD, Murray CJL. Age-specific and sex-specific mortality in 187 countries, 1970–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet. 2012 Dec 13; 380: 2071–2094.
*Corresponding author
Lozano R, Wang H, Foreman KJ, Rajaratnam JK, Naghavi M, Marcus JR, Dwyer-Lindgren L, Lofgren KT, Phillips D, Atkinson C, Lopez AD, Murray CJL. Progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on maternal and child mortality: an updated systematic analysis. The Lancet. 2011; 378:1139-1165.
Rajaratnam JK, Marcus JR, Flaxman AD, Wang H, Levin-Rector A, Dwyer L, Costa M, Lopez AD, Murray CJL. Neonatal, postneonatal, childhood, and under-5 mortality for 187 countries, 1970–2010: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4. The Lancet. 2010 May 24; 375:1988–2008.
Rajaratnam JK, Marcus JR, Levin-Rector A, Chalupka AN, Wang H, Dwyer L, Costa M, Lopez AD, Murray CJL. Worldwide mortality in men and women aged 15–59 years from 1970 to 2010: a systematic analysis. The Lancet. 2010 Apr 30; 375:1704–1720.