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Gerald Roman Nowak III

Gerald Roman Nowak III
  • Graduate Student
  • Department of Sociology
  • Master of Arts, Wayne State University 2019
  • Bachelor of Arts, Wayne State University 2017
  • Associate of Applied Science, Schoolcraft Community College 2015
  • Associate of Arts, Schoolcraft Community College, 2014

CURRICULUM VITAE

Gerald Roman Nowak III

BIOGRAPHY

Gerald Roman Nowak III is a PhD candidate (ABD) in Sociology at Michigan State University and a research assistant on Dr. Angela Chia-Chen Chen’s team at the MSU College of Nursing, where he contributes to the MSU Vaccine Health Game study (https://nursing.msu.edu/research/research-projects/hpv-vaccine-game). In that role, he supports study recruitment, administers the study’s digital health game with families, and contributes to data analysis, quality assurance of study materials, and manuscript development. His work on the team reflects a broader commitment to rigorous, community-facing health research.

Gerald is building a career as a public health researcher. His research spans HPV vaccination and sexual and reproductive health, the mental, physical, and behavioral health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, sickness presenteeism, and the bioethics of psychiatric electrical interventions. Across these areas, he studies how social conditions shape health and well-being and partners with clinical and interdisciplinary teams to move evidence into practice.

He holds an M.A. and a B.A. in Sociology from Wayne State University and expects to complete his PhD in 2027. A quantitative researcher proficient in Stata, SPSS, REDCap, and Excel, he analyzes complex national survey data, including the National Health and Aging Trends Study and the National Survey of Family Growth as well as Add Health, using survey-weighted regression models with replicate-weight variance estimation. He welcomes inquiries regarding collaboration and professional opportunities and can be reached at nowakge@msu.edu.

 

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Copeland, Molly, Gerald R. Nowak III, and Hui Liu. 2026. “Changes in Social Network Size and Older Adults’ Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Applied Gerontology 45(9):1732–42. doi: 10.1177/07334648251389285.

Copeland, Molly, Gerald R. Nowak III, and Hui Liu. 2023. “Social Participation and Self-Reported Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Older Adults.” Aging & Mental Health 27(8):1559–66. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2022.2126821.

Liu, Hui, Molly Copeland, Gerald R. Nowak III, William J. Chopik, and Jeewon Oh. 2023. “Marital Status Differences in Loneliness Among Older Americans During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Population Research and Policy Review 42(5):74. doi: 10.1007/s11113-023-09822-x.

Liu, Hui, Gerald R. Nowak III, Juwen Wang, and Zhehui Luo. 2023. “A National Study of Marital Status Differences in Early Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccine among Older Americans.” Geriatrics 8(4):69. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics8040069.

Brewster, Zachary W., Kenneth Gourlay, and Gerald R. Nowak III. 2022. “Are Black Restaurant Servers Tipped Less Than White Servers? Three Experimental Tests of Server Race Effects on Customers’ Tipping Behaviors.” Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 63(4):433–47. doi: 10.1177/19389655211036652.

Cabrera, Laura Y., Gerald R. Nowak III, Aaron M. McCright, Eric Achtyes, and Robyn Bluhm. 2021. “Last Resort Interventions?: A Qualitative Study of Psychiatrists’ Experience with and Views on Psychiatric Electroceutical Interventions.” Psychiatric Quarterly 92(2):419–30. doi: 10.1007/s11126-020-09819-1.

Cabrera, Laura Y., Gerald R. Nowak III, Aaron M. McCright, Eric Achtyes, and Robyn Bluhm. 2021. “A Qualitative Study of Key Stakeholders’ Perceived Risks and Benefits of Psychiatric Electroceutical Interventions.” Health, Risk & Society 23(5–6):217–35. doi: 10.1080/13698575.2021.1979194.

Brewster, Zachary W., and Gerald R. Nowak III. 2021. “Racialized Workplaces, Contemporary Racial Attitudes, and Stereotype Endorsement: A Recipe for Consumer Racial Profiling.” Sociological Perspectives 64(3):343–64. doi: 10.1177/0731121420946775.

Brewster, Zachary W., and Gerald R. Nowak III. 2019. “Racial Prejudices, Racialized Workplaces, and Restaurant Servers’ Hyperbolic Perceptions of Black–White Tipping Differences.” Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 60(2):159–73. doi: 10.1177/1938965518777221.

Wills, Jeremiah B., Zachary W. Brewster, and Gerald R. Nowak III. 2019. “Students’ Religiosity and Perceptions of Professor Bias: Some Empirical Lessons for Sociologists.” The American Sociologist 50(1):136–53. doi: 10.1007/s12108-018-9388-y.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Nowak, Gerald R., III, and Hui Liu. 2025. “Health and Partnerships.” Pp. 203–213 in Research Handbook on Partnering across the Life Course, edited by D. Mortelmans, L. Bernardi, and B. Perelli-Harris. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803923383