Daniel Semenza

Director of Interpersonal Violence Research

New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center

---

Location: CamdenNJ

Educational Degree(s):
• Bachelor's
• Master's
• PhD

Discipline: Sociology

Years of Experience: 6-10 years

Victimization Focus

• Community Violence
• Gun Violence
• Vicarious Trauma

Special Populations

• Children
• Men and boys of color
• Men, generally
• Urban

Victim Research Expertise

• Community-based participatory research
• Data collection
• Descriptive studies
• Qualitative studies
• Quantitative studies

Additional Research Expertise

• Data collection
• Quantitative studies

About the Researcher

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice (Primary) and the Department of Urban-Global Public Health in the School of Public Health (Secondary) at Rutgers University. I am the Director of Interpersonal Violence Research with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and a faculty researcher with the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government at SUNY. I earned my PhD in the Department of Sociology at Emory University in 2018, specializing in criminology and the sociology of health and illness under the direction of Dr. Robert Agnew. I aim to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to my research and teaching across criminology, sociology, public health, and public policy. Broadly speaking, my research examines (1) the causes and consequences of community gun violence and (2) the connections between health, criminal justice exposure, and violent victimization. The study of health disparities is a central focus across both areas of research. I have published my work in a wide range of journals that span numerous fields including criminology and criminal justice, public health, sociology, and medicine. I am currently an editorial board member for Journal of Criminal Justice, Homicide Studies, and Criminology. Beyond my academic work, I’ve engaged with public audiences across print, radio, and television. My research has been featured in a wide range of outlets including the New York Times, LA Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe, Star Ledger, Scientific American, The Trace, Prevention Magazine, PBS, NPR, CBS Face the Nation, NewsNation, Fox News, and ABC Action News.