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Tara McAlexander, PhD, MPH (she/her)

Tara McAlexander headshot

Assistant Research Professor of Epidemiology
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
267.359.6131
tpm58@drexel.edu
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Degrees

PhD, Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
MPH, Environmental and Molecular Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
BA, Environmental Science, Barnard College, Columbia University

Bio

Dr. McAlexander is an environmental epidemiologist and Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.

She received her PhD from the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2019. She also holds a BA from Barnard College (2010) and an MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health (2012).

Her research focuses on methods to address multiple exposures in the environment using secondary data sources as well as the role of community and environmental exposures in cardio-metabolic disease.

Research Interests

  • Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Nutrition
  • Spatial Analysis or GIS
  • Data Analysis Methods, Statistical Modeling
  • Health and Place or Built Environment
  • Occupational Health, Environmental Exposures, Emergency Preparedness
  • Health Disparities

Publications

Select Publications

Rummo, PE, Kanchi R, Adhikari S, Titus AR, Lee DC, McAlexander T, Thorpe LE, Elbel B. Influence of the food environment on obesity risk in a large cohort of U.S. veterans by community type. Obesity. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23975

McAlexander TP, Ryan V, Uddin J, Kanchi R, Thorpe LE, Schwartz BS, Carson AP, Rolka DB, Adhikari S, Pollak J, Lopez P, Smith M, Meeker M, McClure LA. Associations between PM2.5 and O3 exposures and new onset type 2 diabetes in regional and national samples in the United States. Environmental Research. 2023; 239(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117248

Algur YA, Rummo PE, McAlexander TP, De Silva SSA, Lovasi GS, Judd SE, Ryan V, Malla G, Koyama AK, Lee DC, Thorpe LE, McClure LA. Assessing the association between food environment and dietary inflammation by community type: a cross-sectional REGARDS study. Int J Health Geogr. 2023; 22(24). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-023-00345-4

Meeker MA, Schwartz BS, Bandeen-Roche K, Hirsch AG, De Silva SSA, McAlexander TP, Black NC, McClure LA. Assessing measurement invariance of a land use environment construct across levels of urbanicity. GeoHealth, 2022; 6(10). doi: 10.1029/2022GH000667

McAlexander TP, Malla G, Uddin J, Lee DC, Schwartz BS, Rolka DB, Siegel KR, Kanchi R, Pollak J, Andes L, Carson AP, Thorpe LE, McClure LA. Urban and rural differences in new onset type 2 diabetes: comparisons across national and regional samples in the Diabetes LEAD Network. SSM – Population Health, 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph. 2022.101161.

McAlexander, T, Jagai, J, McClure, LA. Latent growth trajectories of county-level diabetes prevalence in the United States, 2004-2017, and associations with overall environmental quality. Environmental Epidemiology. 2022;6(4):e218. doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000218.

Rummo PE, Algur Y, McAlexander TP, Judd SE, Lopez PM, Adhikari S, Brown J, Meeker M, McClure LA, Elbel B. Comparing competing geospatial measures to capture the relationship between the neighborhood food environment and diet. Under Review at Annals of Epidemiology.

McAlexander TP, Algur Y, Schwartz BS, Rummo PE, Lee D, Siegel KR, Ryan V, Lee NL, Malla G, McClure LA. Categorizing community type for epidemiologic evaluation of community factors and chronic disease across the United States. Under Review at Social Sciences & Humanities Open.

McAlexander TP, Bandeen-Roche K, Buckley JP, Pollak J, Michos ED, McEvoy JW, Schwartz BS. Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Hospitalization for Heart Failure in Pennsylvania. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2020 Dec 15;76(24):2862-2874. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.10.023. PMID: 33303076; PMCID: PMC7735256.

Hirsch AG, Carson AP, Lee NL, McAlexander T, Mercado C, Siegel K, Black NC, Elbel B, Long DL, Lopez P, McClure LA, Poulsen MN, Schwartz BS, Thorpe LE. The Diabetes Location, Environmental Attributes, and Disparities Network: Protocol for Nested Case Control and Cohort Studies, Rationale, and Baseline Characteristics. JMIR Research Protocols. 2020;9(10): e21377. doi: 10.2196/21377. PMID: 33074163; PMCID: 7605983.

Almeter A, Tashie A, Procter A, McAlexander T, Browning D, Rudder C, Jackson L, and Araujo R. A needs-driven, multi-objective approach to allocate urban ecosystem services from 10,000 trees. Sustainability. 2018, 10(12), 4488.

Savitz DA, Elston B, Bobb JF, Clougherty JE, Dominici F, Ito K, Johnson S, McAlexander T, Ross Z, Shmool
JLC, Matte TD, Wellenius GA. Ambient fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and hypertensive disorders of 
pregnancy in New York City. Epidemiology. 2015, 26 (5): 748-757.

McAlexander TP, Gershon RRM, Neitzel RL. Street-level noise in an urban setting: assessment and contribution to personal exposure. Environmental Health. 2015, 14 (18). 


Gershon RRM, Sherman MF, Magda LA, Riley HEM, McAlexander TP, Neitzel R. Mass Transit Ridership and Self-Reported Hearing Health in an Urban Population. Journal of Urban Health. 2013, 90 (2): 262-75.

Neitzel RL, Gershon RRM, McAlexander TP, Magda LA, Pearson JM. Exposures to Transit and Other Sources of Noise Among New York City Residents. Environmental Science and Technology. 2012, 46 (1): 500-508.

See Dr. Alexander's full list of publications on Google Scholar