CCJ Directory

Andrew V. Papachristos is the John G. Searle Professor of Sociology, director at the Institute for Policy Research, and the founder and faculty director of the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science at Northwestern University (CORNERS). His research aims to understand how the connected nature of cities—how their citizens, neighborhoods, and institutions are tied to one another—affect what we feel, think, and do.

Papachristos’ principal area of research applies network science to the study of gun violence, policing and police misconduct, illegal gun markets, street gangs, and urban neighborhoods. He has more than 15 years of experience working in the area of engaged research, having partnered with community groups, state and local criminal justice agencies, schools, hospitals, and other government entities. His research and evaluation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, Chicago’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy, the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, and Cure Violence have been widely cited and recognized as models for engaged research and evaluation in the area of gun violence prevention and reduction programs.

A native of Chicago, Papachristos has received numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation’s Early CAREER Award and the American Society of Criminology’s Young Scholar Award. Prior to arriving at Northwestern, Papachristos was a professor of sociology at Yale University and founding director of The Policy Lab. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago and his PhD from the University of Chicago.