Public Health Research at Drexel Dornsife: Urban Health, Global Impact
Social inequalities in health remain a major challenge for societies around the globe. Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health is committed to understanding the drivers of health disparities, investigating the possible interventions to reduce those disparities, and working with partners to eliminate them. Our school views social justice as critical to population health.
All of Dornsife's public health research has a community component to it. Co-created research projects result in co-created solutions to public health problems that are ultimately more sustainable and have more community investment.
The growth of research at Drexel Dornsife is one of the School’s defining features, with research expenditures more than tripled in the last ten years. Overall, Drexel University maintains an R1 Carnegie Classification.
Public Health Research Resources
Drexel Dornsife has a diverse research portfolio in areas of population health including urban health, health disparities, translation of evidence into practice and policy, and health and human rights. Learn more about our research centers, interests and activities.
Centers and Programs
Faculty Research Interests
Faculty Grants and Announcements
Dornsife Research Expertise
Learn more about how Dornsife, both locally and globally, is building partnerships and focusing on health in cities.
Research Partnerships
Dornsife research is elevated by our partnerships with other exceptional local and international organizations. Learn more about our alliances.
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Urban Health
By 2050, cities will be home to two-thirds of the world’s population. Learn about the work of Dornsife's Urban Health Collaborative.
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Featured Public Health Research Topics
Below are two featured areas of research that reinforce Dornsife's commitment to the three goals of generating the best scientific evidence, putting it into practice, and promoting equity and social justice.
Maternal & Child Health
Our Maternal and Child Health Program strives to improve the health of families through education and research.
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Extreme Weather
The Drexel Research Center on Extreme Weather Events and Urban Health examines the health impacts of extreme weather in order to inform equitable urban policy.
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Faculty Research Highlight
Dornsife is fortunate to have among our faculty many experienced public health practitioners, and many researchers focused on generating policy relevant evidence. Evidence and action are two sides of the same coin, reinforcing and informing each other continuously to improve population health and eliminate health disparities.
Exel, Drexel University's biennial magazine of research and innovation, highlights research teams across Dornsife and Drexel and showcases our distinctive approach to teaching as a global leader in experiential education.
Latest Public Health Research News
Dornsife researchers show the value of public health by addressing current and emerging issues facing the world today. Read about our research and activities making news locally, nationally and globally.
Heat-related deaths in Latin America are projected to double by 2050, according to a new SALURBAL study published in Environment International. The projections analyzed the impacts of temperature and aging populations on future mortality in 326 cities across nine Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.
Across Latin America, high temperatures are associated with an increase in traffic fatalities. A recent SALURBAL study examined temperature and traffic fatality data across 272 cities in six Latin American countries—Brazil, Mexico, Chile, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica—between 2000 and 2019, and provides important insights regarding equity and vulnerability as cities throughout the region face a warming climate in the context of high urbanization and increasing motorization.
New data from 35 large cities that comprise the Big Cities Health Coalition suggest that — in the population as a whole — overdose rates were relatively stable in 2022 and 2023 after 12 years of exponential growth.
A new research review by Drexel University public health researchers may provide insights on how indoor temperatures impact health.
We’re pleased to share the news that UHC-Affiliated Researchers at the Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health Co-Chaired and led a major study in the new Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing!
Alex Ezeh, PhD, Dornsife Professor of Global Health, co-chaired the Commission alongside Ali Groves, PhD, MHS, Associate Professor of Community Health and Prevention, and Dornsife alumna Luwam Gebrekristos, PhD, MPH, who were members of the Commission.
Seven members of the SALURBAL-Climate team participated in the Second World Conference on Air Pollution and Health from March 24 to 28, 2025. This event, led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Colombian Ministry of Health, convened over 700 participants from 100 countries who came together in Cartagena, Colombia.
Researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health set out to determine whether media coverage of SNAP is fair and comprehensive.
A new scale measuring agricultural community power developed by, for, and with U.S.-based urban growers provides a framework for assessing the impacts of urban agriculture programming.
The Promise Zone Research Connection hosted its inaugural West Philly Research Day which aimed to connect research institutions, local organizations and community members to engage in meaningful conversations to promote mutually beneficial outcomes of research for community residents.
This academic year marks 10 years of a collaboration to train future global public health leaders and empower frontline workers through innovative programs that blend academic rigor with real-world practice.
New research found that having supportive parents who value a girl’s education and having a close female friend may lower the risk of postpartum depression among adolescents in Nairobi, Kenya.
A SALURBAL-Climate paper published recently in Nature Cities sheds light on large inequities in flood exposure within 276 cities in eight Latin American countries. The research, led by Josiah Kephart PhD, MPH, an assistant professor at the Drexel University Urban Health Collaborative, and a team of investigators from Latin America.
A recent study suggests that New Jersey's bail reform policy was able to lower rates of jail incarceration without exacerbating the crisis of fatal intimate partner violence.