Dr. Finigan-Carr is a prevention research scientist focused on the application of behavioral and social science perspectives to research contemporary health problems, especially those that disproportionately affect people of color. Her scholarship is grounded in theories and methods found primarily in the field of health behavior change among individuals and the environments that support or impede chronic disease prevention or management, injury, and violence. She is an internationally recognized expert on human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors. 
She is the principal investigator of research projects at the state and federal levels designed to intervene with system-involved youth — those in foster care or the juvenile justice system. These youth have a double vulnerability — adolescence, a critical stage marked by increased risk for negative social and behavioral outcomes including aggression and sexual risk behaviors, and being removed from their families of origin.
Dr. Finigan-Carr is the author of “Linking Health and Education for African American Students’ Success” (Routledge Press). She has served as special guest editor for the Journal of Negro Education (2015), the Journal of Violence and Victims (2020), and Children Youth Services’ Review (2021). She also serves as a commissioner of community relations in the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights.