Rate My Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Julianne Holt-Lunstad is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, serving as Professor, Applied Social Psychology, Health Emphasis, and director of the Social Connection & Health Lab. Her research program investigates the quantity and quality of social relationships and their influence on long-term health outcomes and mortality risk. She examines biological pathways including cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, genetic, metabolic, immune, and neural mechanisms through which social connections affect health. Her multimethod approach encompasses experimental, naturalistic, meta-analytic, and intervention studies, demonstrating that social isolation and loneliness confer mortality risks comparable to established factors like smoking. This work has established social relationships as a critical public health priority.

Dr. Holt-Lunstad has profoundly impacted policy and practice as lead scientific editor for the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Framework for a National Strategy. She is founding scientific chair and board member of the U.S. Foundation for Social Connection and the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, served on multiple National Academy of Sciences consensus committees, the UK Cross Departmental Loneliness Team, European Joint Research Council, World Health Organization panels, and as subject matter expert for the CDC, Gravity Project, and Commit to Connect clearinghouse. Key publications include "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review" (PLoS Medicine, 2010), "Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review" (Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2015), "Why Social Relationships Are Important for Physical Health: A Systems Approach to Understanding and Modifying Risk and Protection" (Annual Review of Psychology, 2018), "Social Connection as a Public Health Issue" (Annual Review of Public Health, 2022), and book chapters such as "Social Support and Health" (2013) and "Relationships and Physical Health" (2018). With over 35,000 citations, her contributions have elevated social connection in psychological and public health discourse.