Nicole L. Hair, PhD

Nicole L. Hair, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Health Services Policy & Management in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. She is a faculty affiliate of the Carolina Consortium on Health, Inequalities, and Populations. Prior to joining the faculty at UofSC, Dr. Hair completed a two-year fellowship as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan. She received her PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Hair’s research addresses questions that lie at the intersections of health, human capital, and economic stability. Much of her work focuses on the causes and consequences of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities over the life course. Current projects include research on the social and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic; the role of neighborhood and school contexts in shaping children’s mental health and academic persistence; sociodemographic differences in health and access to health care; public policies and interventions aimed at improving child and adolescent health outcomes, including timely receipt of routine vaccinations; and the potential for policies designed to ameliorate childhood health inequities to narrow gaps in educational outcomes and opportunities for young people. As an RCMAR Scientist, Dr. Hair will evaluate the long-term benefits of vaccination mandates implemented in the 1960s and early 1970s.

RCMAR Pilot Project Title: Long-Term Effects of Measles Vaccine Mandates on Educational Attainment and Cognitive Function