Today’s cities face many challenges, including climate change, rising inequality, and health disparities. Yet urban environments offer optimum opportunities for the development of innovative programs and policies that can improve population health. The biennial Drexel Urban Health Symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to spark conversations and new ideas about how to turn evidence into action, share creative methods and solutions, and stimulate debate among participants from diverse perspectives and fields.

Topics Include:

• Addressing urban health crises and disaster preparedness
• Perspectives of urban health leaders
• Place-based approaches to health
• Innovations in data collection and analysis for research
• The role of cities in creating changes in population health
• Urban design and action strategies to improve health
• Urbanization, migration and displacement

Symposium Location

Drexel University
Dornsife School of Public Health
Nesbitt Hall
3215 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Information for visiting Philadelphia

Local Hotels:

The Study at University City
20 S. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.387.1400

Sheraton Philadelphia University City
3549 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.387.8000

The Inn at Penn
3600 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.222.0200

Homewood Suites by Hilton University City 
4109 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.382.1111

Sonesta Hotel
1800 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 
215.561.7500 or 800.SONESTA (766.3782)

Ground Transportation:

The Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health is conveniently located close to Philadelphia 30th Street Train Station and SEPTA trolley and SEPTA subway stations. Participants may choose to take SEPTA’s Airport Line from Philadelphia International Airport. Travel time is approximately 25 minutes. Taxi service is readily available in the Philadelphia area, and is located outside each terminal. Fares are approximately $30-35 one way from the airport.

The symposium will bring together participants across sectors and disciplines with an interest in urban health including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, planners, environmentalists, students and other stakeholders. We welcome participation from different career stages and geographic areas.

The poster session and reception will take place on the afternoon of September 5, 2019. The poster session will cover a broad range of research topics related to urban health and provide an informal setting to discuss the themes of the symposium.

Poster Session Location

Drexel University
Bossone Research Center
(Lobby and 3rd floor atrium level)
3140 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Poster Sessions

To download a PDF of the posters, please click here.

Evaluating Interventions

1. “Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Incursions in Two NYC Subsidized Housing Settings: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Private Sector Buildings”
Elle Anastasiou, BS, Albert Tovar, BS, Emily Gill, BS, Melanie Baker, MPH, Katarzyna “Kasia” Wyka, PhD, Terry Gordon, PhD, Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: New York University School of Medicine

2. Withdrawn

3. Withdrawn

4. “Evaluating the health effects of urban upgrading interventions in informal settlements: a systematic review (2012-2018)”
Rosie Mae Henson, MPH, PhD(c), Ana Ortigoza, MS, MD, PhD, Kevin Martinez, MD, Gina Lovasi, MPH, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

Place-Based Research and Initiatives

5. “Blight Surveillance for Public Health: Using 311 Data to Target Interventions”
Jessica Athens, PhD, MS, Nupur Chaudhury, MUP, MPH, Mark Zezza, PhD, MA, David Sandman, PhD, MPA
Presenting author’s affiliation: New York State Health Foundation

6. “Population-Based Measures of Exposure to Violence Are Associated with Mental Health, While Proximal Violent Crime Incidents Are Not”
Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, MPH, Samantha Rivera Joseph, MPH, Rennie Joshi, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

7. “Feasibility of measuring adverse community experiences as indicators of community-level trauma: a systematic review”
Samantha Rivera Joseph, MPH, Randy Sell, ScD, Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, Brent Langellier, PhD, MA, Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, MPH, Yvonne Michael, ScD, SM
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

8. “An Overview of the West Philly Promise Neighborhood Initiative”
Erikka Gilliam, MS, MPH, Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, Félice Lê-Scherban, PhD, Kelley Traister, MSW, Maggie Beverly, MPH, Irene Headen, PhD, Matthew Jannetti, MSPPM, Andrew Stutzman, MS, Dai Meeks, Samantha Joseph, MPH, DrPH(c)
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

9. “Creating a comprehensive resource directory for children and families in West Philly Promise Neighborhood”
Maggie Beverly, MPH, Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, Félice Lê-Scherban, PhD, Kelley Traister, MSW, Leah Lombardi, BS, Dai Meeks
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

10. “Map the Gap: Addressing Urban Trauma in Mantua, PA Via Human-Centered Design, Interdisciplinarity, and Mixed-Methods Translational Research”
Samantha Stein, Diana Nicholas, RA, AIA, NCARB, Yvonne Michael, ScD, SM, Kristin Giordano, MPH, Thanh My Nguyen
Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Pennsylvania

11. “Surveillance of urban policy action related to social determinants of health at the city level”
Jennifer Kolker, MPH, Amy Confair, MPH, Katherine Castro, MPH(c), Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

12. “The role of school segregation in child obesity disparities”
Nuha Mahmood, BS, Brisa Sánchez, PhD, Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, ScD, Mika Matsuzaki
Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Michigan

13. “Understanding Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Adolescents in Indian Urban Slums”
Tanya Dhingra, MPH, Heather Murphy, PhD, PEng
Presenting author’s affiliation: Temple University

Built environment

14. “A comparison of first-time Citi Bike members to New York City cyclists, 2013-2018”
Aldo Crossa, MSc, Kathleen H Reilly, PhD, Shu Meir Wang, PhD, Sze Yan Liu, PhD, Anne Krassner, MS, Sungwoo Lim, DrPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

15. “Determinants of residential preferences related to built and social environments and concordance between neighborhood characteristics and preferences”
Jingjing Li, PhD, Amy Auchincloss, PhD, Daniel Rodriguez, PhD, Kari Moore, MS, Ana Diez Roux, PhD, Brisa Sanchez, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

16. “Field validation of two food outlet data sources used to characterize the food environments in New York City”
Aldo Crossa, MSc, Ryan Gardner-Cook, MA, Amarilis Cespedes, PhD, Sze Yan Liu, PhD, Sungwoo Lim, PhD, L. Hannah Gould, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

17. “Characterizing Smoking-related Litter in Public Parks in Philadelphia”
Russell McIntire, PhD MPH, Ashley Lipshaw, MPH(c)
Presenting author’s affiliation: Thomas Jefferson University

18. “How do low-income ethnic families with young children use parks? Using latent class analysis to understand types of park use and family characteristics”
Jing-Huei Huang, Med, Myron Floyd, PhD, Oriol Marquet, PhD, Claudia Alberico, MS, Elizabeth Mazak, MS, J. Aaron Hipp, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: North Carolina State University

19. Built environment and physical activity among youth: Findings from Mexico City”

Tahmeed Tureen, BS, Elizabeth FS Roberts, PhD, Martha M Tellez-Rojo, PhD, Brisa N Sanchez, PhD

Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Michigan School of Public Health

Climate, air pollution, and environmental exposures

20. “Solutions at the nexus of Climate Change and Health for Cities”
Debarati Majumdar Narayan, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: The Pew Charitable Trusts

21. “Understanding Hurricane María’s Impact on Public Health in Puerto Rico”
Mislael Valentín-Cortés, BA, Dana Thomas, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Michigan School of Public Health

22. “Social Susceptibility to Multiple Air Pollutants in Cardiovascular Disease”
Jane Clougherty, ScD, MSc, Jamie Humphrey, PhD, MPH, Ellen Kinnee, MS, Laura Kubzansky, PhD, MPH, Colleen Reid, PhD, MPH, Leslie McClure; PhD, MS, Lucy Robinson; PhD, MA
Presenting author’s affiliation: Environmental and Occupational Health, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health

23. “Disentangling impacts of multiple nitrogen dioxide sources across Philadelphia”
Sheila Tripathy, PhD, Paige Williams, MPH, Lucia Lavalle, Leah Schinasi, PhD, Shannon Capps, PhD, Jane E. Clougherty, ScD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

24. Withdrawn

25. “Differential food, water and animal exposures reported by Pennsylvania Salmonella and Campylobacter case-patients in urban and rural areas, 2011-2016.”
Erica Smith, PhD, MPH, Esther Chernak, MD, MPH, Alison Evans, ScD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health
Changing Cities

Changing cities

26. “Trends in transit use, walking to transit, and ridesharing between 2009 and 2017 in the US and its major metropolitan areas”
David Berrigan, PhD MPH, Calvin Tribby, PhD MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: National Cancer Institute

27. “Changes in physical activity supportive environments and changes in small-area sociodemographic composition in US urban areas: a bi-directional analysis”
Pedro Gullon, MD, PhD, Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, Jana Hirsch, PhD, Andrew Rundle, PhD, Julia Díez, MsC, Philip Hurvitz, PhD, Insu Koh, PhD, Gina S. Lovasi, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

28. “Aging in a Gentrifying Harlem”
Saakshi Kakar, BS, Mubarak Sanni, Isabella Greco, Justin McIntosh
Presenting author’s affiliation: Wesleyan University

29. “Change in Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Among New York City Adults: New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2004 and 2013-14”
Rania Kanchi, MPH, Sharon Perlman, MPH, Bahman Tabaei, Adeiyewunmi Osinubi, Lorna Thorpe, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: NYU Langone Health

30. “Changing Neighborhoods, Changing Health? An Ecological Analysis of Gentrification and Neighborhood Level Health - New York City, 2002-2018”
Karen Alroy, DVM, MPH, Sze Yan Liu, PhD, MPH, Michael Sanderson, MS, Aldo Crossa, MSc, L. Hannah Gould, PhD, MBA, Sungwoo Lim, DrPH, MS
Presenting author’s affiliation: CDC and NYC DOHMH

Special populations

31. “Housing Needs of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Families Living in Philadelphia”
Paul Turcotte, MPH, Lindsay Shea, MS, DrPH, Mimi Wong, LCSW, Kate Verstreate, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: AJ Drexel Autism Insitute

32. “Community Needs of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Families Living in Philadelphia”
Mimi Wong, LCSW, Lindsay Shea, MS, DrPH, Paul Turcotte, MPH, Derek Green, JD
Presenting author’s affiliation: AJ Drexel Autism Institute

33. “Scaling of drug fatalities in the Unites States”
Pricila Mullachery, MPH PhD, Usama Bilal, MD MPH PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

34. “"Anything Could Happen" How Perceived HIV Risk Influences PrEP Initiation Among Women Who Inject Drugs in Philadelphia”
Eliza Ziegler, BA, Marisa Felsher, MPH, PhD(c), Jade McKnight, MPH, Alexis Roth, PhD, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

35. Withdrawn

36. “Ongoing Pilot Study on the Use of Doxycycline as Prophylaxis for Syphilis in HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex With Men”
Heather Conway, BS, Zsofia Szep, MD, Shara Epstein, MD, Michele Kutzler, PhD, Edward Gracely, PhD, Margaret O'Connor, MS, MD/PhD student, Nguyen K. Tran, MPH, PhD(c), Seth Welles, ScD, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Drexel University College of Medicine

37. “Qualitative Assessment to Understand the Knowledge Associated with Hepatitis B Among Vietnamese Nail Salon Workers in Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA”
Catherine Freeland, MPH, Nga Vu, Tracy Nguyen, Nancy Nguyen, Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, Tran Huynh, PhD, MPH, CIH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Hepatitis B Foundation

38. “Prevalence and Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease New York City Adults, 2013-14”
Sharon Perlman, MPH, Linda Wong, MD, MPH, Claudia Chernov, MPH, Sumit Mohan, MD, MPH, Lorna Thorpe, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

39. Ruwais UN-Planned: A Public Health and Territorial Intervention”
Faris Abuzeid, BArch / MSc
Presenting author’s affiliation: Faris Abuzeid + Associates (FA+A)
Innovative Research Methodology

Innovative research methodology

40. “City-level measures of health, health determinants, and equity to foster population health improvement: the City Health Dashboard”
Miriam Gofine, MPH, Shoshanna Levine, DrPH, Lorna Thorpe, PhD, Benjamin Spoer, PhD, Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: City Health Dashboard, NYU School of Medicine, Department of Population Health

41. “Comparing Health and Social Outcomes Among US Peer Cities Using Cluster Analysis”
Justin Feldman, ScD, Lorna Thorpe, PhD, Benjamin Spoer, PhD, Shoshanna Levine, DrPH, Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: NYU School of Medicine

42. “Improving Sampling Probability Definitions with Predictive Algorithms”
Matthew Jannetti, MSPPM, Amy Caroll-Scott, PhD, MPH, Erikka Gilliam, MS, MPH, Irene Headen, PhD, MS, Félice Lê-Scherban, PhD, MPH, Maggie Beverly, MPH, Samantha Joseph, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

43. “Spatial Statistical Methods to Assess the Relationship Between Water Violations and Poverty at the County Level: In America, Who has Access to Clean Water?”
Ruby Bayliss, BS, Loni Tabb, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

44. “Spatiotemporal analysis of overall health in the united states between 2010-2018 using bayesian methods”
Binod Acharya, MS, Loni Tabb, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health

45. “Split and combine SIMEX algorithm to correct geocoding coarsening of built environment exposures”
Jung Yeon Won, MS, Brisa N. Sánchez, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Michigan

46. “A causal model to estimate the effect of distance-weighted built environment exposures from longitudinal data”
Adam Peterson, M.S., Brisa Sanchez, PhD
Presenting author’s affiliation: University of Michigan

47. “Understanding geographic disparities in cancer mortality: Does selection of neighborhood deprivation index matter?”
Daniel Wiese, PSM, Shannon Lynch, PhD, Kevin Henry, PhD, Kari Moore, MS, Yuzhe Zhao, Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH
Presenting author’s affiliation: Temple University, Geography Department

48. “Network Analysis of Latino-Serving Organizations in Philadelphia to Promote Immigrant Health in Urban Settings”
Nishita Dsouza, MPH, Elizabeth Hassrick, PhD, Kristin Giordano, MPH, Chris Friedman, BA
Presenting author’s affiliation: Dornsife School of Public Health

Wednesday, September 4, 2019
	Pre-symposium Session Levels and Determinants of Urban Mortality: A focus on cities of Latin America The Drexel Urban Health Collaborative's Salud Urbana en América Latina (SALURBAL) project is convening a pre-symposium event to discuss challenges and opportunities in characterizing and studying the determinants of urban mortality with a special focus on the Latin American context. The event will be made up of a keynote address and two expert panels: -Methodologic Panel: Challenges in the assessment of patterns of urban mortality in Latin American cities -Mortality in Latin American Cities: Preliminary results from the SALURBAL project Speakers Include: Dr. Ana Diez Roux, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University  Dr. Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, Associate Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Dr. Piedad Urdinola, Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Dr. Bernardo Lanza Quieroz, Associate Professor, Department of Demography, UFMG, Brazil Dr. Sofia Palacio-Mejia, Professor, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Mexico Dr. Usama Bilal, Assistant Research Faculty, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University Dr. Alex Quistberg, Assistant Research Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, Drexel University Ana Ortigoza, Doctoral Candidate, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Drexel University Separate registration is required for this event. Register for the Pre-Symposium PRE-SYMPOSIUM AGENDA
8:00 - 8:30	Breakfast for speakers and attendees
8:30-8:40	Introduction and welcome Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Director, Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University
8:40-9:30	Keynote Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, PhD, MA, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA "Mortality in Latin America: Levels and Trends"
9:30-11:00	Methodologic Panel: Challenges in the assessment of patterns of urban mortality in latin american cities Urban mortality in México Quality and causes of death in Colombian cities Estimates of adult mortality in small-areas in Brazil: Spatial and temporal trends
11:00-11:20	coffee break
11:20-12:35	Mortality in Latin american cities: preliminary results from the salurbal project Levels and determinants of urban mortality in Latin American cities: Data from the SALURBAL project The influence of the physical and social urban environment of infant mortality in Latin American Cities Built and Social Environment Association with Road Mortality in 365 Latin American Cities
12:35-12:45	closing remarks Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Director, Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University

Thursday, September 5, 2019
8:00 - 8:30	Registration, Coffee and Breakfast
8:30 - 8:40	Welcome and Overview Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Director, Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University
Session 1 8:45 - 10:30	Addressing urban health crises and disaster preparedness: the perspective of urban health leaders Moderator: Jerry Fagliano, PhD, MPH, Associate Clinical Professor and Chair, Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University Lillian Rivera, PhD, MSN, RN, Retired Administrator and Health Officer, Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County Andrew Miller, MD, Public Health Officer, Butte County Public Health Department, California Chrissie Juliano, MPP, Executive Director, Big Cities Health Coalition Nestor Saul Hernandez Milan, MD, Director of Health Services, Institute of Public Health at the State of Baja California (ISESALUD) Discussant Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, MA, President & Chief Executive Officer, de Beaumont Foundation
Session 2 10:50 - 12:30	Placed-based approaches to health: from rural to urban environments Moderator: Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, PhD, Research Professor in Environmental Epidemiology, ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Spain Anne Palmer, MAIA, MA, Food Communities and Public Health Program Director, Center for a Livable Future, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Pete DeCarlo, PhD, Associate Professor, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, MPH, MSW, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health Discussant Kelly Henning, MD, Public Health Program Lead, Bloomberg Philanthropies
Lunch 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Session 3 1:30 - 3:15	Innovations in data collection and analysis in urban health research Moderator: Brent Langellier, PhD, MA, Assistant Professor, Health Management and Policy, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University Ryan Demmer, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Co-Director, Epidemiology and Population Health Summer Institute, Columbia University Quynh Nguyen, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland Jaime Madrigano, ScD, MPH, Associate Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation Jane Clougherty, MSC, ScD, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University Discussant Raynard Washington, PhD, MPH, Chief Epidemiologist, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Poster Session 3:30 - 5:30

Friday, September 6, 2019
8:00 - 8:30	Registration, Coffee and Breakfast
Session 4 8:30 - 9:45	Keynote address: Thomas Farley, Md, MPH, Health commissioner, city of Philadelphia
Session 5 9:45 - 11:00	Urban Design and action strategies to improve health Moderator: Diana Nicholas, NCIDQ, AIA, NCARB, LEED, GA, Director MS Design Research, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University Anita Chandra, DrPH, MPH, Vice President and Director, RAND Social Economic Well-Being, RAND Corporation Joanna Frank, President and CEO, Center for Active Design Mark Stevenson, PhD, Professor of Urban Transport and Public Health, University of Melbourne Adam Freed, MUP, Principal, Bloomberg Associates Discussant Ira Goldstein, PhD, President, Policy Solutions, Reinvestment Fund
Session 6 11:15 - 12:30	Urbanization, migration and displacement Moderator: Joseph Amon, PhD, MSPH, Clinical Professor of Community Health and Prevention and Director of the Office of Global Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University Matthew Hauer, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Florida State University Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Prevention, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University Ana Abraido-Lanza, PhD, MA, Vice Dean, College of Global Public Health, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, NYU (withdrawn) Catherine Kyobutungi, PhD, MS, Senior Research Scientist and Director of Research, African Population and Health Research Center
12:30 - 12:35	Closing Remarks Gina S. Lovasi, PhD, MPH, Dornsife Associate Professor of Urban Health, Co-Director, Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University