Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Director of the Social Connection & Health Lab at Brigham Young University, and Scientific Chair and Board Member for the U.S. Foundation for Social Connection and the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, USA

Julianne Holt-Lunstad is an international scientific expert focusing on the individual and population health effects, biological mechanisms, and strategies to mitigate risk and promote protection associated with social connection. Her research has been seminal in recognizing social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for early mortality. As the lead scientific editor for a U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory and National Strategy, she works towards translating evidence into practice and policy. She serves as a scientific advisor and regularly consults for organizations across sectors aimed at addressing this issue.

Julianne has served as a member of multiple National Academy of Sciences consensus committees, the UK Cross-departmental Loneliness Team, advised the European Joint Research Council, the World Health Organization, and is a subject matter expert for the Commit-2-Connect national clearinghouse of interventions and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has garnered numerous accolades within her discipline and is regularly highlighted in major media outlets.