Associate Professor of International Health
Department of Global Health and Population
Department of Environmental Health
My research interests are centered around understanding the determinants of, and risk factors for, health and disease at the population level, especially as they change through technological innovation and technology management. My current research focuses on two main areas:
- Energy, air pollution, and health in developing countries: I conduct field projects on energy technology, indoor and urban air pollution exposure, and health in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The research includes characterizing and measuring exposure to individual pollutants or to pollutant mixtures in both rural and urban areas, quantifying the role of sources such as biomass use and transportation on air pollution levels and exposure, measuring and quantifying the health impacts of alternative energy technologies, and designing new technological interventions and intervention delivery programs. My recent and ongoing research includes field research in Kenya, Ghana, and China, as well as model-based analysis in different world regions.
- Major health risk factors and their role in current and future disease burden globally or in specific countries and regions: My research on risk factors focuses on environmental risks, smoking, and nutritional risks. I led the World Health Organization’s collaborative project on risk factors (titled “the Comparative Risk Assessment Project”) which appeared in the World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. I currently study the role of major risk factors in health inequalities in the United States and globally.