School of Medicine
Showing 51-100 of 225 Results
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Rebecca M. Gardner
Ph.D. Student in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, admitted Autumn 2022
BioMy research interests are in maternal nutrition and well-being, with a focus on hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), defined as severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that often leads to significant maternal undernutrition, poor antepartum and postpartum mental health, and is the second leading cause of hospitalization during pregnancy. I am interested in the link between HG and maternal and child outcomes, particularly hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and neurobehavioral disorders in childhood like autism; and whether certain environmental exposures, including ambient air pollution and wildfires, exacerbate HG symptoms, leading to hospitalization. Additionally, I am interested in applying causal methods traditionally used in economics to public health.
Before starting a PhD, I was a biostatistician in the Quantitative Sciences Unit at Stanford for four years where I co-authored over thirty publications, collaborating with clinicians on various domains including developmental behavioral pediatrics, reproductive endocrinology & infertility, oncology, and clinical trials. I completed my MS in Statistics at Brigham Young University in 2016, where I collaborated with cardiologists to develop a new approach to diagnose rheumatic heart disease in pediatric patients in Samoa for my Master's thesis. -
Pascal Geldsetzer
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
BioPascal Geldsetzer is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Primary Care and Population Health and, by courtesy, in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. He is also affiliated with the Phil & Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Department of Health Policy, and the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences.
His research focuses on identifying and evaluating the most effective interventions for improving health at older ages. In addition to leading several randomized trials, his methodological emphasis lies on the use of natural experiments to ascertain causal effects in large observational datasets, particularly in electronic health record data. He has won an NIH New Innovator Award (in 2022), a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub investigatorship (in 2022), and three NIH R01 grants as Principal Investigator (in 2023 and 2024). In 2026, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in health and medicine globally by TIME Magazine. -
Nicole Gladish
Research Fellow, Epidemiology and Population Health
BioDr. Nicole Gladish is a Research Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University. Her work integrates genetic, epigenetic, and population-level data to understand how biological and environmental factors interact to shape health disparities and influence trajectories of healthy aging. In addition to exploring molecular mechanisms, she conducts applied research on health policy interventions developing and refining tools like deprivation indices to inform equitable decision-making at the systems level.
Dr. Gladish earned her Ph.D. in Medical Genetics from the University of British Columbia (UBC), where her thesis focused on how early-life adversity, such as low socioeconomic status and abuse, affects DNA methylation patterns. This work aimed to elucidate the biological mechanisms that predispose individuals to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
At Stanford, she continues to investigate the interplay between social determinants and biological risk, with a growing emphasis on translational research. Her development of improved social deprivation indices supports more accurate identification of disadvantaged communities, informing public health funding, service allocation, and structural interventions across the U.S.
Dr. Gladish's work bridges molecular epidemiology and public policy, aiming to ensure that scientific insights translate into measurable improvements in population health. -
Steven Goodman
Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health) and, by courtesy, of Health Policy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI study issues relating to the representation and measurement of evidence in medical research and determinants of the reliability of biomedical research findings. I also do work in evidence synthesis, comparative effectiveness research, and the ethics of clinical research.
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Bonnie Halpern-Felsher
Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor of Pediatrics and Professor, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch focuses on developmental, cognitive and psychosocial factors involved in adolescents’ and young adults’ health-related decision-making, perceptions of risk and vulnerability, health communication and risk behavior. My research has focused on understanding and reducing health risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, risky driving, and risky sexual behavior.
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Summer Han
Associate Professor (Research) of Neurosurgery, of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy current research focuses on understanding the genetic and environmental etiology of complex disease and developing and evaluating efficient screening strategies based on etiological understanding. The areas of my research interests include statistical genetics, molecular epidemiology, cancer screening, health policy modeling, and risk prediction modeling. I have developed various statistical methods to analyze high-dimensional data to identify genetic and environmental risk factors and their interactions for complex disease.
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Cellas Ari'ka Hayes
Postdoctoral Scholar, Epidemiology
BioDr. Cellas Hayes is a first-generation college graduate, neuroscientist, and postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and minors in Classics, and Latin from the University of Mississippi (2019) and earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences with an emphasis in Pharmacology (2022), where he received advanced neuroscience research training under Dr. Nicole Ashpole’s guidance.
At Stanford, Dr. Hayes employs cutting-edge epidemiological and biostatistical methods with high-dimensional biological data to investigate the impact of cerebrovascular and Alzheimer’s disease pathologies on age-related outcomes such as cognitive decline and dementia. He has established national collaborations including the Strong Heart Study, Cardiovascular Health Study, Health and Aging Brain Study - Health Disparities, and the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.
Dr. Hayes is becoming a recognized leader in his field and beyond, serving as a Stanford Propel Postdoctoral Fellowship Alumni, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund PDEP Fellow, and a HABS-HD Health Enhancement Scientific Program Fellow, and diversity supplement recipient. He is the founder and chair of the National Black Postdocs Emergency Support Program and a former co-president of the Stanford Black Postdocs Association. As a postdoc, Dr. Hayes has accrued over 500K in fellowship funds while participating in notable professional development programs like the NIH NIMHD HDRI and NIA Butler Williams Scholars Program. At UM, Dr. Hayes was the first recipient to receive a NIH NRSA F31 in 37 years while also being a Southern Regional Education Board Scholar and UMMC-GTEC Smith Scholars Program.
Passionate about mentorship and education, Dr. Hayes develops innovative resources and curricula through the Stanford Grant Writing Academy, where he has trained postbaccalaureate, doctoral, and postdoctoral scholars in grant writing and career development. -
Chris Heitzig
Postdoctoral Scholar, Epidemiology
BioChris Heitzig is a New Map of Life Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. An economist by training, his research develops models to examine healthy aging across the life course, with a particular emphasis on identifying causal pathways and key points of policy intervention to improve well-being in later life. A central focus of his work is the socioeconomic impact of undiagnosed metabolic disorders—how these conditions manifest, the costs of leaving them untreated, and the potential for interventions to improve detection and outcomes. His research combines insights from economics and public health with machine learning methods for causal inference.
Before joining Stanford, Chris served in research roles at the Brookings Institution and the World Bank. At Brookings, he managed a $1.5 million research grant investigating how technological change is reshaping employment in Africa. At the World Bank, he designed randomized controlled trials to measure the causal effects of health and employment programs and served in an operational role as the day-to-day lead for a $20 million job transition program. Chris holds a PhD in Economics from the Institute of Development Studies, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Economics from Saint John’s University. -
Victor W. Henderson, MD, MS
Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch interests:
(1) Risk factors for age-associated cognitive decline and for dementia.
(2) Therapeutic strategies to improve cognitive abilities in aging and in dementia.
(3) Brain–behavior relations as they pertain to human cognition. -
Ixel Hernandez-Castro
Postdoctoral Scholar, Epidemiology
BioEnvironmental epidemiologist focused on understanding how cumulative environmental exposures during pregnancy and early life shape maternal and child health across the life course. My work integrates epidemiologic methods and molecular biomarkers to uncover shared biological pathways linking chemical and social exposures to cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes, with the goal of informing early prevention strategies and supporting health.
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Tina Hernandez-Boussard
Professor of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics), of Biomedical Data Science, of Surgery and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy background and expertise is in the field of computational biology, with concentration in health services research. A key focus of my research is to apply novel methods and tools to large clinical datasets for hypothesis generation, comparative effectiveness research, and the evaluation of quality healthcare delivery. My research involves managing and manipulating big data, which range from administrative claims data to electronic health records, and applying novel biostatistical techniques to innovatively assess clinical and policy related research questions at the population level. This research enables us to create formal, statistically rigid, evaluations of healthcare data using unique combinations of large datasets.
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Mark Hlatky, MD
Professor of Health Policy, of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy main research work is in "outcomes research", especially examining the field of cardiovascular medicine. Particular areas of interest are the integration of economic and quality of life data into randomized clinical trials, evidence-based medicine, decision models, and cost-effectiveness analysis. I am also interested in the application of novel genetic, biomarker, and imaging tests to assess risk and guide clinical management of coronary artery disease.
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Manuel Hoffmann
Affiliate, Center for Population Health Sciences
Biowww.manuelhoffmann.org
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Alyssa Michelle Howren
Postdoctoral Scholar, Epidemiology
BioAlyssa Howren is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University’s Department of Epidemiology and Population Health in the School of Medicine. She completed her MSc and PhD training at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences during which she was a trainee at Arthritis Research Canada. Her PhD training was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Award, along with UBC’s Wayne Riggs Interdisciplinary Scholarship in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Andrew Nord Fellowship in Rheumatology. Her research focuses on using multiple data sources to provide evidence to disentangle the complex relationship between depression and anxiety with inflammatory arthritis and assess how people living with inflammatory arthritis are treated for their comorbid mental disorders. Methodological approaches in Dr. Howren’s work have included systematic reviews, qualitative research, mixed methods, and population-based studies using linked administrative health databases. She was awarded a CIHR Fellowship for her postdoctoral research at Stanford University which aims to evaluate whether biases in clinical decision-making contribute to the sex and gender differences observed in the diagnosis of major depressive disorder.
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Ann Hsing
Professor (Research) of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center/Cancer Institute) and of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch Focus
• Epidemiology of prostate, hepatobiliary, and thyroid cancers
• Racial disparities in cancer
• Endogenous hormones/growth factors
• Circadian rhythms
• Chronic inflammation
• Genetic susceptibility
• Cancer prevention and control
• Global oncology and international studies -
Assel Ibadulla
Ph.D. Student in Health Policy, admitted Autumn 2025
BioAssel Ibadulla is a PhD student in Health Policy, specializing in Decision Sciences, and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. She graduated with honors in Biological Sciences from Nazarbayev University and earned a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from Yale University as a Horstmann Scholar. Assel aims to leverage decision sciences to support policymakers in making cost-effective and equitable health decisions, with a focus on strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries.
Previously, Assel worked at Yale’s Equity Research and Innovation Center, where she focused on healthcare equity for ethnic minorities, and at the Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab, where she contributed to research on transitioning to high-value health systems, and additionally, assisted with WHO global health projects.
She also placed in the top 10 at the Asian Universities Alliance Social Entrepreneurship Competition at Tsinghua University for her mental health app, Mind Matters. -
Amy M Inkster
Postdoctoral Scholar, Epidemiology
BioAmy Inkster, PhD is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University. She conducts research on epigenetic alterations in pregnancy and early life to understand the molecular levers affecting healthy development. She primarily uses large 'omics datasets to study the effect of environmental exposures on pregnancy outcomes and maternal health.
Dr. Inkster received her PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), where her research focused on evaluating DNA methylation variation in prenatal life, primarily in the context of placental epigenetics, sex differences, prenatal exposures, and X-chromosome inactivation. She holds a BSc in Chemistry. As a cross-disciplinary researcher, her work and research interests lie at the intersection of molecular mechanisms and their impacts on human health and disease at the population level. -
John P.A. Ioannidis
Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center), of Epidemiology and Population Health and, by courtesy, of Biomedical Data Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMeta-research
Evidence-based medicine
Clinical and molecular epidemiology
Human genome epidemiology
Research design
Reporting of research
Empirical evaluation of bias in research
Randomized trials
Statistical methods and modeling
Meta-analysis and large-scale evidence
Prognosis, predictive, personalized, precision medicine and health
Sociology of science -
Jlateh Vincent Jappah
Ph.D. Student in Health Policy, admitted Autumn 2021
Master of Arts Student in Economics, admitted Spring 2024BioJlateh Vincent Jappah is a PhD Candidate in Health Policy (Health Economics) at Stanford. His research interests intersect between methods that enhance access to the social determinants of health and the provision of appropriate and timely healthcare services, with the aim of reducing avoidable morbidity and mortality and improving overall health and well-being, especially for underserved and vulnerable populations.
Jappah contends that although health insurance and access to healthcare services are important elements in the health production function, other structural and socio-economic factors collude to either foster or erode health. As such, he has a keen interest in public policy, economics, medicine, global public health, maternal and child health, and a curiosity to understand those socio-political and institutional forces that shape health and well-being. He is also interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
In addition to the United States, Jappah has lived and worked in several countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
He is bi-lingual (English and Russian). -
Esther M. John
Professor (Research) of Epidemiology and Population Health and of Medicine (Oncology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. John has extensive expertise in conducting population-based epidemiologic studies and has led as Principal Investigator multiple large-scale studies, including multi-center studies with a study site in the San Francisco Bay Area with its diverse population. Many of her studies and collaborations investigated cancer health disparities. Her research has focused on the role of modifiable lifestyle factors (e.g., body size, physical activity, diet), hormonal factors, early-life exposures, genetic variants, and gene-environment interactions; differences in risk factors by race and ethnicity, breast cancer subtypes, and prostate cancer subtypes; risk factors for familial breast cancer and second primary breast cancer, as well as prognostic factors related to survival disparities.
As Principal Investigator, Dr. John has led a number of studies conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area, including:
- the Northern California site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry, an on-going prospective multi-generational cohort of over 13,000 families established in 1995 at six international sites;
- the San Francisco Bay Area Breast Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study in nearly 5,000 African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White women that investigated the role of modifiable lifestyle factors and other risk factors;
- the California site of the Breast Cancer Health Disparities Study that investigated genetic variability and breast cancer risk and survival in Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations in the context of genetic admixture;
- the Breast Cancer Etiology in Minorities (BEM) Study, a pooled analysis of risk factors for breast cancer subtypes in minoritized racial and ethnic populations;
- the Northern California site of the WECARE Study that investigates risk factors for second primary contralateral breast cancer;
- the Second Primary Breast Cancer Disparities Study, a pooled analysis of risk factors for contralateral and ipsilateral second primary breast cancer in a diverse population;
- the San Francisco Bay Area Prostate Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study of lifestyle and genetic risk factors for advanced and localized disease.
These studies collected and pooled extensive data and biospecimens and continue to support numerous ancillary studies, collaborations and international consortia and have contributed to a better understanding of cancer risk and survival in minoritized racial and ethnic populations.
Dr. John is a founding PI of the LEGACY Girls Study, a prospective cohort established in 2011 that investigates early life exposures in relation to pubertal development outcomes, breast tissue characteristics, and behavioral and psychosocial outcomes in the context of having a family history or breast cancer.
In 2023, Dr. John joined the Stanford investigator team of the MOSAAIC (The Multiethnic Observational Study in American Asian and Pacific Islander Communities) Study, a five-center study to improve health of American Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations. -
Deborah Kado
Professor of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
BioDr. Kado is a board-certified, fellowship-trained doctor specializing in geriatrics. She serves as co-director of the Stanford Longevity Center. She is a professor of medicine and chief of research for the Geriatrics Section in the Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health. She is also the Director of the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) at VA Palo Alto Health Care System.
For each patient, Dr. Kado prepares a personalized care plan. Her objective is to help all individuals maintain the best possible health and quality of life as they age.
A special interest of Dr. Kado is bone health. She has conducted extensive research focused on osteoporosis and the related disorder hyperkyphosis.
Since joining the UCLA faculty in 2000, she has received continuous funding for her research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications of her research findings in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Osteoporosis International, Journal of Gerontology and Medical Sciences, Journal of Geriatric Oncology, Nature Communications, and other peer-reviewed journals.
In 2007, she defined hyperkyphosis as a new geriatric syndrome. Her discoveries in this field were first featured in the American College or Physician’s premier internal medicine journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Later, they also appeared in a dedicated chapter in UpToDate, the electronic resource providing evidence-based clinical decision support for doctors worldwide.
Prior to coming to Stanford, Dr. Kado practiced at UC San Diego where she started a dedicated osteoporosis clinic for patient care and research. She later broadened her research interests beyond musculoskeletal aging to study other aging-related topics such as the gut microbiome in older men and the effects of cancer treatments on aging in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
Dr. Kado is a California native. She trained at UCSF and UCLA. She also earned a Master of Science degree in epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, sponsored by the John Hartford Foundation.
She is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, Gerontological Society of America, The Endocrine Society, and other professional organizations. She co-chairs the NIH National Institute on Aging Workshop for the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research. She also participates in the Bone Health Working Group of the Society for Women’s Health Research. -
Neil Kamdar
Assistant Director of Analytics, Center for Population Health Sciences
Biostatistician 3, Center for Population Health SciencesBioI am a health services researcher and applied methodologist focused on clinical and policy applications in disabilities research, women's health, general surgery, and mental health analyses. My focus has been on leveraging Medicare, private payer claims (Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), MarketScan, OptumInsight, etc.) and Medicaid to understand cost, utilization, and outcomes. This work has been foundational in the development of large-scale studies on vulnerable populations that have typically been under-served or insufficiently studies in the health services research domain.
I serve as the Assistant Director of Analytics at the Center for Population Health Sciences at Stanford, focused on the development of the American Family Cohort (AFC) data, a primary care registry that provides substantial insights into clinical outcomes, utilization, and a particular focus on COVID-19 and Long COVID outcome analyses. Ancillary work would involve the development of research collaborations throughout Stanford Medicine with the interest in creating scholarship across the many domains of the Center for Population Health Sciences.
In addition to this role at Stanford, I also maintain an appointment at the University of Michigan, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, where I serve as an analytic lead in the development of administrative claims and electronic medical records analyses leading to publications in general and subject-specific journals.
I have been successful in being funded as a co-investigator with several federal and foundation agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Neilsen Foundation focused on traumatic spinal cord injury, among many others. I have also provided foundational analyses in the development of Clinical Quality Initiatives (CQIs), which are state-wide initiatives aimed at improving the health and efficiency of hospitals and institutions, with a focus on maternal and fetal medicine in the State of Michigan. -
Ankita Kaulberg
Director of Innovation & Technology, Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Role at StanfordDirector of Innovation & Technology, HEARTS Lab
Stanford School of Medicine -
Mathew Kiang
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health (Epidemiology)
BioI am an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. My research lies at the intersection of computational epidemiology and social epidemiology. Methodologically, my work revolves around combining disparate data sources in epidemiologically meaningful ways. For example, I work with individual-level, non-health data (e.g., GPS, accelerometer, and other sensor data from smartphones), traditional health data (e.g., survey, health systems, or death certificate data), and third-party data (e.g., cellphone providers or ad-tech data). To do this, I use a variety of methods such as joint Bayesian spatial models, traditional epidemiologic models, dynamical models, microsimulation, and demographic analysis. Substantively, my work focuses on socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequities, substance use, and child health. For example, recently, my work has examined inequities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, cause-specific excess mortality, and drug poisonings. Other work has examined the impact of changing vaccination rates on the reemergence of infectious diseases and the prevalence of parental death among children.
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Abby C. King
David and Susan Heckerman Professor and Professor of Epidemiology & Population Health and of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy interests include applications of behavioral theory and social ecological approaches to achieve large scale changes impacting chronic disease prevention and control; expanding the reach and translation of evidence-based interventions through state-of-the-art technologies; exploring social and physical environmental influences on health; applying community participatory research perspectives to address health disparities; and policy-level approaches to health promotion/disease prevention.
