Morgan Clennin, PhD, MPH


SONNET is a national network of applied researchers who help design, evaluate, and implement effective social health interventions to improve member health across Kaiser Permanente. SONNET's work is made possible with funding from KP's National Community Health Program.

Scientific Research Associate 

KP Colorado Institute for Health Research │ morgan.n.clennin@kp.org

morgan.clennin__187x187.jpgMorgan Clennin, PhD, MPH, is a Scientific Research Associate at the Institute for Health Research. Her research interests include examining the influence of social determinants of health and neighborhood environment on development of chronic disease, with a focus on cardiovascular health. Her training and research experiences have included: 1) measurement of built, social, and socioeconomic environment, including neighborhood deprivation; 2) conducting social epidemiology research using population-based data sources and medical record data; 3) employing diverse analytic methods including multilevel, longitudinal, and spatial modeling approaches; and 4) evaluating natural experiments of community-driven policy and environment interventions. 

Dr. Clennin serves as the lead SONNET Evaluation and Research Committee (ERC) member from Kaiser Permanente Colorado. She is principal investigator or co-investigator for several research and evaluation projects, has authored two dozen peer-reviewed publications, and has delivered over 30 presentations at professional conferences. She also collaborates with the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (PAPREN) and the Colorado Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (C-COR) Consortium

Dr. Clennin earned her PhD in Exercise Science with an emphasis on social epidemiology and health disparities from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. She completed her Master of Public Health from Saint Louis University with an emphasis in Behavior Science and Epidemiology. Currently, Dr. Clennin is applying for a career development award (CDA) that will provide essential training, resources, and protected time to support her transition to an independent investigator. The proposed project will harness novel data sources (the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank (KPRB)) and interdisciplinary methods to examine social and structural determinants of disparities in cardiovascular disease risk. The goal of this research is to identify the unique neighborhood exposures that explain why disparities emerge and how experiences with racial discrimination, structural racism, and neighborhood attributes intersect to influence disparities in cardiovascular disease risk. 

KP_Chat_icon_kp-blue_120px.png“Health equity is crucial because it’s fundamental to living a good life and building a vibrant society." - Victor Dzau
SONNET_LOGO_TAG_LINE.png

Contact SONNET

Email us at sonnet@kp.org to learn more about our work or request a consultation.