Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D.
yabdulma@syr.eduCurriculum Vita (PDF)
Dr. Ynesse Abdul-Malak was born in Haiti and immigrated to the United States at the age of thirteen. Dr. Abdul-Malak overcame overwhelming obstacles to become a first-generation college graduate. She obtained an AAS degree in nursing and practiced as a nurse in Staten Island, NY; therein after moving to Lebanon with her husband and family, Dr. Abdul-Malak obtained a BS in Environmental Health and a Master’s degree in Public Health at the American University of Beirut. She then moved to Syracuse and worked as a research scientist at Upstate Medical University. She then enrolled at Syracuse University and obtained a Master’s and PhD in Sociology.
Dr. Abdul-Malak’s work focuses on understanding how social structures impact the aging processes of individuals over the course of one’s life-with a special emphasis on U.S Caribbean immigrants. She is a co-editor of Grandparenting in the U.S. (2016), with Baywood Publishing. Moreover, Dr. Abdul-Malak is currently interviewing grandparents of grandchildren with disabilities for a co-authored book manuscript, Grandparenting Children with Disabilities (Springer Publishing). To date, Dr. Abdul-Malak has presented her research here in the United States and internationally. In addition to researching and publishing, she enjoys teaching courses on race, aging, gender, immigration, and research methodology. One of Dr. Abdul-Malak’s main research investigates how country of origin, early life events, and context of reception in the United States impact immigrant health, in the aim of shedding light on health disparities among various minority groups. She is a proud recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant award and Best Doctoral Prize at Syracuse University.
At BBI, Dr. Abdul-Malak’s work examines factors that impact the inclusion of people with disabilities in educational and employment settings. Through a sociological lens, she investigates how disability is constructed by the way society is organized and creates barriers based on attitudes, stereotypes, and ableism. Additionally, her work explores the intersectionality of disability, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and economic status and its impact on an inclusive workforce.
Books
(In Progress) – Harrington Meyer, Madonna and Abdul-Malak, Grandparenting Children with Disabilities. Under contract with Springer Publications
2016 – Harrington Meyer, Madonna and Abdul-Malak, Ynesse (Ed). Grandparenting in the U.S. Baywood Publishing.