Our research propels discovery, innovation, and interventions of the socio-environmental determinants of health through development, translation, and use of novel biostatistical methods.
Characterizing health impacts of built environment features using complex data
Understanding the ways in which environments affect health-related behaviors and consequent chronic disease outcomes is fundamental to disease prevention and population health improvement. This project uses novel methods and unique data from a state-of-the art, multi-ethnic longitudinal study to conduct empirical analyses regarding how a host of built environment features impact health behaviors and objectively measured biological and clinical outcomes. These novel analyses advance the science of built environment health effects by addressing important exposure assessment questions and use approaches that guard against residential self-selection bias. The results of the project will have implications for urban design by providing needed evidence to support emerging planning strategies that seek to create environments that promote health. More info: http://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-HL131610-01A1
Neighborhood Environments as Socio-Techno-bio Systems
The overarching goal is to develop methodological tools for understanding complex, dynamic socio-techno-biological systems that link socio-economic conditions, environments, and human biological trajectories within Mexico City’s neighborhood environments. This will be done by engaging an interdisciplinary team of investigators in a multi-faceted case study of water trust. This project will create an approach that can be used more generally to understand complex systems that can benefit from expertise from multiple disciplines. Neighborhood-level data collected and analyzed as part of the study will include: qualitative ethnographic data; quantitative socio-economic and built environment data; environmental engineering data on water quality. The study will leverage existing longitudinal molecular epidemiological data previously collected on mother child/pairs in these neighborhoods. These data will be compiled to model the interlinked and feedback relationships between human behaviors, built environments, and biological processes in the creation of water trust. More info: http://grantome.com/grant/NSF/BCS-1744724
Population-level interventions and community environment effects on child obesity disparities
This quasi-experimental longitudinal study will (a) examine the influence of state and federal nutrition policy interventions for schools on child obesity prevalence and on racial/ethnic obesity disparities; and (b) investigate whether and how community food environments modify the obesity influences of nutrition policy interventions. The study will generate new evidence on the effectiveness of current nutrition policy interventions to prevent child obesity and reduce disparities. Findings from this study will inform current and future population-wide strategies focused on two major public health goals—preventing child obesity and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health. Our lab is invested in applying state of the art statistical methods for investigating environmental effects on disparities. More info: https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-HL136718-03