Catherine Cerulli
Catherine Cerulli, J.D., Ph.D.
Director, Susan B. Anthony Center
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center
Biography
Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD, has established a unique, scientifically based career path that seeks to combine legal, public health, and mental health perspectives to enhance the human rights and well-being of people marginalized due to economic, safety, health, and legal concerns. As a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the Director of the Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization, she has promoted research in diverse criminal justice, community, and health settings, and in 2016 cofound an innovative medical-law program that integrates health, legal, and advocacy services for victims of intimate partner violence (IPV).
Dr. Cerulli also directs the UR Susan B. Anthony Center. The Center focuses on translating science regarding social determinants of health into practices to try and change lives. Dr. Cerulli, a licensed attorney, has worked directly with IPV victims since 1983 – as a counselor, advocate, attorney, and researcher. She forges collaborative community studies in partnership with survivors as investigators and advisors, guided by principles of community-based participatory research. Dr. Cerulli has worked in Russia, China, Mongolia, the Greater Mekong region, and most recently, in India. NIH Fogarty International Center, the World Health Organization, and the Fulbright Specialist Program have funded her international portfolio. As a national and international leader and trainer, Dr. Cerulli speaks directly to the need for agencies to ground their service programs in scientifically developed evidence and to rigorously evaluate the real-world impacts of their initiatives.
She received a PhD in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 2004 and her Master’s Degree in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 1998. She holds a JD from the University at Buffalo law school. Dr. Cerulli received the Excellence in Public Service award from the SUNY Albany Alumni Association in 2014 and the National Institute of Mental Health New Investigator Award in 2005.