I am an experienced sociologist whose research focuses on the causes and consequences of social inequalities. I currently hold the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York.

Research

My most recent research focuses on health services and health disparities. My article, "The Adoption and Use of Health Information Technology in Rural Areas: Results of a National Survey," co-authored with Dr. Ranjit Singh and other members of the Department of Family Medicine, appears in the Winter 2012 issue of  the Journal of Rural Health. Based on a national survey of primary care medical offices, we show in the article that there is little evidence of rural-urban or intra-rural differences in the adoption or use of health information technology (HIT) or electronic medical records (EMRs), but there are other factors, particularly office size, that are clearly related to adoption rates. Other results from the HIT survey were presented at the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meetings in 2009 and 2010. (Click here to see our 2009 NAPCRG poster, "Factors affecting adoption of EMR systems: results of a national survey of primary care practices.") I am currently revising an article regarding the relationship between EMR adoption and local area disadvantage.

In the past, I have studied poverty and welfare, race/ethnicity and employment, and immigration. With my co-author Roger Waldinger, I researched and wrote How the Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social Organization of Labor (University of California Press), which earned an Honorable Mention from the Thomas and Znaniecki Book Award committee (American Sociological Association) in 2004. In the book, which is based on extensive interviews with managers in Los Angeles-area firms, we show how less-educated immigrants are a perfect fit for the needs and preferences of many employers seeking entry-level workers. We show how social networks facilitate migration, connect new migrants to jobs, and often lead to the exclusion of non-migrants. We also identify barriers, such as English fluency and civil service exams, that help protect natives, particularly less-educated African Americans, from immigrant competition.

My interest in immigration and related issues has not disappeared; I recently published a review of two immigration-related books (click here for an abstract) in ASA's Contexts magazine. A few years back, I organized (with Professor David Gerber) a workshop on post-9/11 immigration, funded primarily by with UB Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy and featuring nationally-recognized scholars. I also studied the impact of post-9/11 circumstances on Buffalo-area Arabs and Muslims, again with Baldy Center support.

My publications include an entry in the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology along with several book chapters, book reviews, and articles. Click here to see a complete C.V.

Professional Experience

In 2010, I completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship (the National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award Fellowship) in the UB Primary Care Research Institute where I learned the ins and outs of health services research. I spent most of the preceding seven years teaching sociology as an Assistant Professor in  the UB Department of Sociology (2001-2007) and at D'Youville College (2007), a Catholic institution located near downtown Buffalo. Prior to that (1998-2001), I was as a Senior Research Analyst working on an evaluation of welfare reform (CalWORKs) for the the County of Los Angeles.

In keeping with conventional wisdom that contemporary Americans will have at least three different careers in their lifetime, prior to entering graduate school in sociology, I was a computer systems manager and programmer. I did research support work in computer science at both Caltech and UCLA, and had previously done operating systems development work for a small Southern California startup.

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

B.A., Computer Science & Communications/Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego

Contact Information

It's easiest to reach me by e-mail: MLichter@Buffalo.edu. I read my e-mail regularly and usually respond quickly.