Man Kit (Karlo) Lei is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and core faculty of the Center on Biological Embedding of Social Events and relationships. He received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Georgia. His teaching and research interests include sociology of health, criminology, structural inequality, family and neighborhood studies, and quantitative methods.
Lei's research combines theories and methods across disciplinary boundaries to examine the social determinants of health, aging, and well-being across the life span, with a particular focus on minority populations and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Recently, his efforts have been primarily guided by three questions: 1. How does a better understanding of the social determinants impact well-being? 2. How and why do early adversity experiences impact well-being across the life course? 3. Why do only some, and not all people, exposed to social adversity develop negative outcomes?
His work has been published in the top journals in social science, including the American Sociological Review, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Science and Medicine, Journal of Family Psychology, and Family Process. He has received the Gene Carte Award, the Joan Petersilia Outstanding Article award from the American Society of Criminology, the Donal MacNamara Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Best Paper Award from the American Sociological Association's Section on Evolution, Biology & Society. Recently, he has received the Charles B. Knapp Early Career Scholar Award from the University of Georgia. Named in honor of the University of Georgia’s 20th President, this award recognizes “outstanding accomplishment and evidence of potential future success in scholarship, creative work or research by an early-career faculty member in the social and behavioral sciences.”
Education
- Ph.D., Sociology, University of Georgia, 2013
- M.A., Sociology, University of Georgia, 2010
- M.A., Sociology, National Taiwan University, 2001
- LL.B., Law (minor in Sociology), National Taiwan University, 1999
Research
- 2022-2025. Co-Investigator, "Stress, Weathering, and Blood-Based Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease: A Longitudinal Study of Low Income, Aging African Americans." National Institute on Aging.
- 2018-2023. Co-Investigator, "Using a Randomized Prevention Trial to Understand the Health Benefits of Supportive Couple Relationships among Rural African American Adults." National Institute on Aging.
- 2018-2023. Co-Investigator, "Contextual and Health Behavior Effects on Epigenetic Aging Among African Americans." National Cancer Institute.
- 2020-2022. Principal Investigator, Workgroup on Families, Communities, and Health, Office of Research, University of Georgia.
- 2017-2022. Co-Investigator, "Psychosocial Context and the Biological Clock: Changes in Weathering during Middle Age." National Institute on Aging.
- 2019-2021. Co-Investigator, “Childhood Stressors and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Investigation of Divergent Explanatory Models.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Selected Publications
- Lei, Man-Kit, Gene H. Brody, and Steven R. H. Beach. 2022. “Intervention Effects on Self-Control Decreases Speed of Biological Aging Mediated by Changes in Substance Use: A Longitudinal Study of African American Youth.” Family Process 61: 659-673.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Justin A. Lavner, Sierra E. Carter, Olutosin Adesogan, and Steven R. H. Beach. 2022. “Relationship Intervention Indirectly Buffers Financial Strain's Effect on Biological Aging Among Black Adults.” Journal of Family Psychology 36: 501-512. Selected Media Coverage: APA Research Briefs
- Lei, Man-Kit, Mark T. Berg, Ronald L. Simons., and Steven R. H. Beach. 2022. “Neighborhood Structural Disadvantage and Biological Aging in a Sample of Black Middle Age and Young Adults.” Social Science & Medicine 293: 114654.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R. H. Beach, Ronald L. Simons, and Kaixiong Ye. 2021. “The Impact of Harsh Parenting on the Development of Obesity in Adulthood: An Examination of Epigenetic/Gene Expression Mediators among African American Youth.” Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 8: 755458.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Justin A. Lavner, Sierra E. Carter, Ariel R. Hart, and Steven R. H. Beach. 2021. “Protective Parenting Behavior Buffers the Impact of Racial Discrimination on Depression among Black Youth.” Journal of Family Psychology 35: 457-467.
- Lei, Man-Kit and Ronald L. Simons. 2021. “The Association between Neighborhood Disorder and Health: Exploring the Moderating Role of Genotype and Marriage." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18: 898.
- Lei, Man-Kit and Steven R. H. Beach. 2020. “Can We Uncouple Neighborhood Disadvantage and Delinquent Behaviors? An Experimental Test of Family Resilience Guided by the Social Disorganization Theory of Delinquent Behaviors.” Family Process 59: 1801-1817.
- Lei, Man-Kit and Ronald L. Simons. 2020. “A Multilevel Structural Resilience Model: When and For Whom do Neighborhoods Really Matter?” International Sociological Association eSymposium for Sociology 30: 1-12.
- Lei, Man-Kit and Eric T. Klopack. 2020. “Social and Psychological Consequences of the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Experiences of Taiwan and Hong Kong” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 12(S1): S35-S37. Selected Media Coverage: Psychology Today
- Lei, Man-Kit, Frederick X. Gibbons, Ronald L. Simons, Robert A. Philibert, and Steven R. H. Beach. 2020. “The Effect of Tobacco Smoking Differs Across Indices of DNA Methylation-Based Aging in an African American Sample: DNA Methylation-Based Indices of Smoking Capture These Effects.” Genes 11: 311.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Mark T. Berg, Ronald L. Simons., Leslie G. Simons, and Steven R. H. Beach. 2020. “Childhood Adversity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: An Appraisal of Recall Methods with a Focus on Stress-Buffering Processes in Childhood and Adulthood.” Social Science & Medicine 246: 112794.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Ronald L. Simons, Steven R.H. Beach, and Robert A. Philibert. 2019. "Neighborhood Disadvantage and Biological Aging: Using Marginal Structural Models to assess the Link between Neighborhood Census Variables and Epigenetic Aging." Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences 74: e50-e59.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R.H. Beach, and Ronald L. Simons. 2018. "Biological Embedding of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Collective Efficacy: Influences on Chronic Illness via Accelerated Cardiometabolic Age." Development and Psychopathology 30: 1797-1815.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R.H. Beach, and Ronald L. Simons. 2018. "Childhood Trauma, Pubertal Timing, and Cardiovascular Risk in Adulthood." Health Psychology 37: 613-617.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R.H. Beach, Meeshanthini V. Dogan, and Robert A. Philibert. 2017. "A Pilot Investigation of the Impact of Smoking Cessation on Biological Age." American Journal on Addictions 26: 129-135.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R.H. Beach, Ronald L. Simons, Ashley B. Barr, Carolyn E. Cutrona, and Robert A. Philibert. 2016. “Stress, Relationship Satisfaction, and Health among African American Women: Genetic Moderation of Effects.” Journal of Family Psychology 30: 221-232.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Steven R.H. Beach, Ronald L. Simons, and Robert A. Philibert. 2015. “Neighborhood Crime and Depressive Symptoms among African American Women: Genetic Moderation and Epigenetic Mediation of Effects.” Social Science & Medicine 146: 120-128.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Ronald L. Simons, Mary Bond Edmond, Leslie Gordon Simons, and Carolyn E. Cutrona. 2014. “The Effect of Neighborhood Disadvantage, Social Ties, and Genetic Variation on the Antisocial Behavior of African American Women: A Multilevel Analysis.” Development and Psychopathology 26: 1113-1128.
- Lei, Man-Kit, Ronald L. Simons, Leslie Gordon Simons, and Mary Bond Edmond. 2014. “Gender Equality and Violent Behavior: How Neighborhood Gender Equality Influences the Gender Gap in Violence.” Violence and Victims 29: 89-108.
Awards, Honors, and Recognition
Honors
- 2022 Charles B. Knapp Early Career Scholar Award, University of Georgia
- 2022. Donal MacNamara Award, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
- 2014. B. O. Williams Award for Dissertation Research, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia.
- 2013. Joan Petersilia Outstanding Article Award, American Society of Criminology.
- 2013. Certificate of Excellence, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia.
- 2012. First Prize, Gene Carte Student Paper Award, American Society of Criminology.
- 2012. The Best Graduate Student Paper Award, Evolution, Biology & Society Section, American Sociological Association.
- 2011. B. O. Williams Award for Thesis Research, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia.
Elected Offices and Editorial Experience
- 2021-present. Associate Editor, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (IF = 6.050)
- 2021-2022. Guest Editor, Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on “Life and Health of the Elderly” (IF = 3.390)
