Lindsay Stark is a social epidemiologist and Professor of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on the safety, mental health, and resilience of women, children, and families affected by conflict and displacement. She is internationally recognized for developing innovative methods to measure violence and other sensitive outcomes in humanitarian settings, including the Neighborhood Method for estimating gender-based violence. Her studies have documented gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, child separation and institutionalization, and the psychosocial wellbeing of children, adolescents, and other conflict-affected populations. She has led multi-site randomized controlled trials and mixed methods research initiatives supporting refugee and migrant youth through the COMPASS, SSAGE, Journey of Life, and SALaMA studies across the DRC, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Colombia, Uganda, and the United States. 

Stark translates research into policy and practice by working closely with governments, multilateral agencies, and NGOs. She has collaborated with UNICEF on global analyses for The Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and serves as an Academic Advisor for the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative. She helped establish independent research centers in Indonesia and Uganda that continue to operate today. Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Research at Columbia University's Program on Forced Migration and Health and as Director of the global Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network. At Washington University, she served as Associate Dean of Global Programs and currently co-directs the Center on Violence and Health. She has authored more than 175 peer-reviewed publications and serves on international editorial boards.

Stark directs undergraduate public health education at Washington University in St. Louis, where she co-leads the Public Health & Society program. She teaches Protection of Women and Children in Humanitarian Response and Applied Qualitative and Participatory Methods at the graduate level.