CPHAR Fellows Biographical Information

Mairead Eastin Moloney, PhD

Dr. Moloney received her PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in 2009. Currently, she is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Program on Integrative Medicine in the School of Medicine at UNC-CH and an instructor in the Departments of Sociology and Social Medicine.

As a graduate student at UNC-CH, Dr. Moloney collaborated on a range of interdisciplinary projects that allowed her to focus on health and health disparities through the lenses of aging, employment and epidemiology. These projects included a multi-national examination of an aging workforce in the new global economy [“Workforce Aging in the New Economy”], a genetic epidemiology study of colorectal cancer among African Americans and whites [“Learning About Research in North Carolina”] and a study of career advancement opportunities for frontline healthcare workers [“Jobs to Careers”]. During this time she first-authored a report for the Center on Minority Aging at the UNC Institute on Aging and co-authored publications in Journal of General Internal Medicine, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention and Genetics in Medicine.

Dr. Moloney’s independent research allowed her to refine her focus on issues of health, the illness experience and medicalization. For her master’s thesis, she qualitatively analyzed focus group and interview data to explore the intersections of stigma, identity and social support among working women with disabilities. Her dissertation research used qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the medicalization of sleeplessness. Specifically, she used a nationally representative data set of physician office visits to track trends over time in sleeplessness complaints, insomnia diagnoses and prescriptions of sedative hypnotics over a 15 year period (1993-2007). She added interpretive depth to the quantitative findings by conducting semi-structured interviews with patients who have insomnia and the physicians who treat them.

From 2006-2008 Ms. Moloney was an NRSA pre-doctoral fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. In 2007 she was awarded the Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship (jointly awarded by Sociologists for Women in Society, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the American Sociological Association). During her time as a CPHAR fellow (2008-2009) at the UNC Institute on Aging she was jointly mentored by Dr. Victor Marshall and Dr. Thomas R. “Bob” Konrad.

As an NRSA post-doctoral fellow in the UNC-CH School of Medicine, her research agenda continues to focus on the medicalization of sleeplessness and its implications for health and policy. In response to concerning trends of the potential over-use of sedative hypnotics in older adults, Dr. Moloney recently applied for and received pilot grant funding from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute to survey and interview Integrative Medicine Practitioners in North Carolina. Her research will highlight physician practice patterns as they relate to older adults with insomnia.

Selected Publications

Moloney, M.E., Konrad, T.R., Zimmer, C.R. The medicalization of sleeplessness: A public health concern. American Journal of Public Health. (in press).

Bussey-Jones, J., Garret, J., Henderson, G., Moloney, M.E., Blumenthal, C., Corbie-Smith, G. (2010) The Role Of Race And Trust In Tissue/Blood Donation For Genetic Research. Genetics in Medicine. Vol. 12(2):116-21.

Bussey-Jones, J., Henderson, G., Garret, J., Moloney, M.E., Blumenthal, C., Corbie-Smith, G. (2009) Asking the Right Questions: Views on Genetic Variation Research among Participants in a Colorectal Cancer Genetic Epidemiology Study. Journal of General Internal Medicine. Vol. 24(3), pp. 299-304.

Corbie-Smith, G., Blumenthal, C., Henderson, G., Garrett, J., Bussey-Jones, J., Moloney, M.E., Sandler, R.S., Williams Lloyd, S.W., Dorrance, J., Darter, J. (2008) Studying Genetic Research Participants: Lessons from the "Learning About Research in North Carolina" Study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention Vol. 17(8), pp. 2019-2024.

Henderson, G., Garrett, J., Bussey-Jones, J., Moloney, M.E., Blumenthal, C., Corbie-Smith. (2008) Great Expectations: Views of genetic research participants regarding current and future studies. Genetics in Medicine. Vol. 10 (3) pp. 193-200.

Kurzman, C., Anderson, C., Key, C., Lee, Y.O., Moloney, M., Silver, A., Van Ryn, M. (2007) Celebrity status. Sociological Theory. Vol. 25, (4), pp. 347-367.

Schuster, J.L., Timmons, J.C., Moloney, M. (2003) Barriers to Successful Transition for Young Adults Who Receive SSI and Their Families. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals. Vol. 26, pp. 47 - 66.

Whitney-Thomas, J. & Moloney M. (2001). “Who I am and what I want”: adolescents’ self-definition and struggles. Exceptional Children. Vol. 67, (3), pp. 375-389.