Suzanne Wenzel is Richard and Ann Thor Professor in Urban Social Development and chair of Department of Adults and Healthy Aging in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Department of Psychology at University of Southern California. Wenzel has served as the principal investigator on 10 grants from the National Institutes of Health. Her research involving homeless persons has included an investigation of the relationship of trauma to substance use and HIV/AIDS risk among women; examinations of the social context of risk for substance use and HIV/AIDS among women, men, and youth; and adaption of evidence-based programs to address post-traumatic stress and to prevent victimization and risky sexual activity among women.

She is also investigating the process and outcomes of transitioning to permanent supportive housing among persons experiencing chronic homelessness and organized a Los Angeles County-wide forum on the topic of integrated care and housing for homeless persons. After completing her doctoral studies in community psychology at University of Texas at Austin, Wenzel was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellowship in the Rutgers/Princeton program in mental health research. Prior to her appointment at USC in 2009, she was a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA. She is an elected fellow in the Association for Psychological Science and a fellow in the Western Psychological Association. She has authored/co-authored 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and has performed peer review services.