Ana Diez Roux, MD PhD

Dean Emerita and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology

Expertise public health urban health Neighborhoods and health Health in Latin America

Diez Roux is internationally known for her research on the social determinants of population health and the many ways that neighborhoods affect health. Her work on the impact of neighborhood conditions on health has been highly influential in the policy debate on population health and its determinants in Philadelphia and around the country and world. She especially focuses on social epidemiology and its relation to health disparities, environmental health effects, psychosocial factors in health, and cardiovascular disease epidemiology.

Of particular focus to her is urban health. In addition to establishing her school’s Urban Health Collaborative, Diez Roux is the lead investigator on the Salud Urbana en America Latina (SALURBAL) Project, which studies Latin and South American cities to determine how they affect the health of their residents.

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In The News

Drexel Launches New Health Policy Research Center Focused on Climate Change

Mar 21, 2024

Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, distinguished university professor and director of the Urban Health Collaborative, and Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, assistant professor and co-director of the Urban Health Collaborative, both at the Dornsife School of Public Health, were quoted in a March 21 WHYY article about the launch of a new research center at the school focused on health and equity impacts of climate change.

The New COVID-19 Vaccines

Sep 8, 2022

Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, the Dana and David Dornsife dean of the Dornsife School of Public Health, was featured in the Sept. 8 episode of WHYY’s “Radio Times,” which discussed new life expectancy data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Extreme temperatures in major Latin American cities could be linked to nearly 1 million deaths

Jun 28, 2022

Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, the Dana and David Dornsife dean of the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a June 28 Science article about co-authoring a new study on deaths linked to extreme heat in Latin America.

Drexel’s School of Public Health, College of Nursing and Health Professions Receive Grant To Diversify Health Disparities Research Faculty

Nov 11, 2021

Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, Dana and David Dornsife dean and distinguished university professor of epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health, and Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, distinguished university professor, executive director of the AgeWell Collaboratory and dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, were quoted in a Nov. 11 Al Día article that reported that the colleges received a 5-year, $14.4 million “Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation” grant from the National Institutes of Health to hire, retain and support diverse, early career researchers with a focus on health disparities research.

How Drexel Will Spend $14.4 Million Examining Disparities in Public Health

Nov 2, 2021

Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, Dana and David Dornsife dean and distinguished university professor of epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health, was interviewed in a Nov. 2 KYW-Newsradio "In Depth" podcast episode about the School of Public Health and College of Nursing and Health Professions recently receiving an NIH grant for $14.4 million dollars for health disparities research.

Drexel Awarded $14M NIH Grant to Recruit Diverse Faculty for Health Disparities Research

Oct 18, 2021

Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, Dana and David Dornsife dean and distinguished university professor of epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health, and Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, distinguished university professor, executive director of the AgeWell Collaboratory and dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, were quoted in an Oct. 18 Philadelphia Business Journal article that reported that the colleges received a 5-year, $14.4 million “Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation” grant from the National Institutes of Health to hire, retain and support diverse, early career researchers with a focus on health disparities research.

2021 Al Día Archetype: Dr. Ana Diez Roux

Sep 2, 2021

Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, the Dana and David Dornsife dean of the Dornsife School of Public Health, was profiled in a Sept. 2 AL DÍA feature as one of the 10 inaugural recipients of the Ambassador Manuel Torres Award.

White House Says July 4 Vaccination Goal Won't Be Met

Jun 23, 2021

Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, the Dana and David Dornsife dean of the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a June 23 HealthDay News article about the White House announcement on Tuesday that it will miss two benchmarks in its nationwide campaign to stop the spread of coronavirus.

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Cars lined up at the drive-through testing site in South Philadelphia outside Citizens Bank Park.

For the City’s Public Health Infrastructure, Key Lessons From the Pandemic

Nov 4, 2021

The spread of COVID-19 illustrated yet again how systemic racism, in its many manifestations, profoundly shapes the health of Black people and people of color in our city, writes the School of Public Health’s Ana V. Diez Roux in this “Rebuilding Philly” essay originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

NIH Awards Drexel University $14.4 Million for Health Disparities Research

Oct 14, 2021

Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and College of Nursing and Health Professions recently received a 5-year, $14.4 million “Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation” (FIRST) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to hire, retain and support diverse, early career researchers with a focus on health disparities research on aging, chronic disease and/or environmental determinants.

Drexel’s Urban Health Collaborative Launches COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Vaccination Disparities

Jun 17, 2021

The Urban Health Collaborative, housed in Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, recently published its “COVID-19 Health Inequities in Cities” dashboard – which exposes deeply intrenched inequities in cities across the United States through the lens of comprehensive data on COVID-19 outcomes. Unlike other COVID-19 dashboards that look at data at broader scales, the Drexel website offers data on inequities at the individual (racial/ethnic disparities), neighborhood (using zip code and social vulnerability measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and city (characteristics such as overcrowding, health infrastructure, etc.) levels on COVID-19 outcomes including vaccination rates.

$9 Million Gift from Philanthropists Dana and David Dornsife to Establish Center on Racism and Health at Drexel

Dec 1, 2020

A $9 million gift from Drexel University alumna Dana Dornsife and her husband David to the University's School of Public Health will help launch a new Center on Racism and Health, recruit and retain faculty experts on racial inequities in health and endow the deanship for public health. The longtime philanthropists, widely known for their humanitarian efforts, are the largest single benefactors in the University's history, having donated more than $70 million. The School of Public Health was named in their honor after a $45 million gift in 2015.

Is Philadelphia Advancing in the War Against Cancer?

Sep 9, 2020

As recent racial justice protests and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic illuminate the role that structural racism and socioeconomic factors play in the health of Americans, significant disparities may be found in cancer rates and outcomes, according to “State of Cancer in Philadelphia,” a report issued this week from Drexel University’s Urban Health Collaborative, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and Fox Chase Cancer Center, sponsored by Lazarex Cancer Foundation.

Drexel and Lazarex Cancer Foundation Establish Program to Help Improve Health Outcomes for Philadelphia Neighborhoods

May 23, 2019

Drexel University is partnering with the Lazarex Cancer Foundation to establish Community IMPACT, a program that will focus on reducing cancer and improving health outcomes in Philadelphia, starting in West Philadelphia neighborhoods. The program involving the Dornsife School of Public Health, College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Medicine will combine public health qualitative and quantitative assessment and research methods with a grassroots engagement in communities that are often not invited to make their own decisions for health care.