Miraj U. Desai, PhD

Miraj U. Desai, PhD is an assistant professor at the Program for Recovery and Community Health of the Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Desai founded and leads the Structural Health and Psychology (SHP) Lab at Yale, which investigates—through mixed methods and community engagement—the structural bases of health, equity, and inequity. This work also involves developing a novel basic and applied science—which his lab calls “structural psychology”—to aid in these efforts. Desai's work has been funded by a range of awards, including a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneering Ideas Award, an NIH/NIMHD K01 Award, and an NIH/NCATS KL2 Scholar Award. Desai’s research has appeared in outlets like the American Psychologist, Clinical Psychological Science, and the American Journal of Community Psychology. He is a recipient of the Melba J.T. Vasquez Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions (APA Minority Fellowship Program), the Distinguished Early Career Contributions in Qualitative Inquiry Award (APA Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods), and a 40 Under 40 Leader in Health award (National Minority Quality Forum). He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University in 2013. 

It is with immense sadness that we share the news that Dr. Desai died suddenly on November 5, 2023, at age 41. We continue to honor the legacy he created. Please find more information regarding his many achievements online.