Dr. Nayak (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is also an Associate Graduate Faculty for the M.A. in Applied Sociology Program and a Faculty Affiliate at the UMBC Center for Health, Equity, and Aging. 

Dr. Nayak is a mixed methods researcher who uses quantitative and qualitative methods to study the social and structural determinants of health and health inequities. She has conducted research globally in East Africa as well as domestically in the U.S. She holds a Ph.D. in Population Health from Northeastern University. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and holds a master's degree from Columbia University. 

ORCID: 0000-0002-1060-0697