Lauren Austin

Lauren Austin

Class of 2018

Current Position: Quality Control Editor, Research Square

Education:

PhD Public Policy, UNC Charlotte (2018)

Masters of History, UNC Charlotte

Research Interest:

Public health, health policy, epidemiology, pandemics.

Dissertation:

Afraid to Breath’: A Public Health Analysis of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic in North Carolina
This dissertation examines the impact of the 1918 influenza on the state of North Carolina and analyzes whether or not North Carolina had a typical, excessive, or somewhat protected experience of the epidemic compared to the rest of the United States. The dissertation also examines which counties within North Carolina had higher or lower mortality rates during the epidemic. Analyses include individual, state, and county level data, as well as personal descriptions of the epidemic from archives and newspapers.

Skills:

SPSS, STATA, SAS, teaching research methods

Publications:

1. (2012) Kuhns, Joseph B., Blevins, Kristie R., and Austin, Lauren A. “Perceptions and Observations of County Crime and Disorder among Small Sheriffs’ Agencies in Suburban and Rural America.” The Journal of Law Enforcement 2(6): 1-20.

2. Book Chapters:

  • (2017) Exum, M.L., Austin, L.A., and Franklin, J.D. “The Effect of Alcohol and Arousal on Criminal Decision Making.” In Wim Bernasco, Henk Elffers, & Jean-Louis van Gelder, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Offender Decision Making. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • (Forthcoming) Brandon, William P. and Lauren A. Austin. “W.S. Rankin and the Creation of Public Health in North Carolina, 1909-1925.” In Steven O. Sabol and Shepherd W. McKinley, eds., North Carolina during the First World War, 1914-1922. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
  • (Forthcoming) Austin, Lauren A. and Brandon, William P. “Pandemic and War: Influenza in North Carolina, 1918-1919.” In Steven O. Sabol and Shepherd W. McKinley, eds., North Carolina during the First World War, 1914-1922. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

Presentations:

1. (2017) Austin, Lauren A. and William P. Brandon. “Pandemic and War, 1918-1919: Preliminary Analysis of New North Carolina Influenza Data.” Meredith College Symposium on World War I. Raleigh, NC.

2. Brandon, William P. and Lauren A. Austin. “W.S. Rankin and the Creation of Public Health in North Carolina, 1909-1925.” Meredith College Symposium on World War I. Raleigh, NC.

3. Brandon, William P. and Lauren A. Austin. “Leadership and the Origin of Public Health in North Carolina, 1909-1925: A Policy History.” North Carolina and South Carolina Political Science Associations Conference. Rock Hill, SC.

4. (2016) Austin, Lauren A. and Jessica Kapota. “Germ Warfare: How Did Charlotte Survive the ‘Spanish Flu’?” University of North Carolina at Charlotte Teach-In Event Carolina in the Trenches: How WWI Affected Charlotte and the Region. Charlotte, NC.

Accomplishments:

1. Central Intelligence Agency Exceptional Performance Award

2. Accepted into the University of Richmond Law School

3. Accepted into Johnson & Wales Culinary School

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