Epidemiologist · Health Services Researcher · RWE Consultant
Studying how social conditions shape chronic disease and health equity.
I'm a physician-trained epidemiologist and health services researcher. My research examines how housing, food environments, income, and access to care drive disparities in chronic disease, substance use, and disability outcomes across the United States.
Available for consulting — real-world evidence, HEOR & epidemiology →
18,000+
Citations · Google Scholar
55+
Peer-reviewed publications
4
Editorial roles, incl. CDC's Preventing Chronic Disease
JAMA · AJE · AJPM
Selected journals
About
Before I was an epidemiologist and health services researcher, I was a doctor — first at a tertiary care center in India, then with Doctors Without Borders on the India–Myanmar border. The lesson from those years was blunt: social conditions decided who got sick before medicine ever got a chance. I've spent my career since working upstream of the clinic.
Today, my research group uses national surveys, claims data, and machine learning to map how social disadvantage shapes chronic disease, substance use, and disability outcomes — and to find the policy levers that actually move them.
Education
2022
PhD, Health Services Research
George Mason University
George Mason University
2017
MS, Health & Medical Policy
George Mason University
George Mason University
2014
MBBS, Medicine & Surgery
Gujarat University, India
Gujarat University, India
Editorial service
Associate Editor, CDC's Preventing Chronic Disease · Academic Editor, PLOS Global Public Health · Review Editor, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · Editorial Board, BMC Public Health
Affiliations
Society for Epidemiologic Research · AcademyHealth · American Public Health Association · American College of Cardiology · American Heart Association · European Society of Preventive Cardiology · Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network
Research focus
All research areas →Social Determinants of Health
How housing, food environments, and neighborhood conditions shape chronic disease and mortality.
Chronic Disease Disparities
Race, income, and access gaps in heart disease, cancer, and diabetes risk and outcomes.
Substance Use & Addiction
Marijuana and e-cigarette use, stroke risk in young adults, and recovery programs in jails.
Disability & Health Equity
Screening gaps and healthcare access for adults living with disabilities.
Selected publications
Guns, Safety, and Society: Social Drivers of Health in Firearm Ownership and Storage Practices
JAMA Network Open · 2025
From Policy to Practice: The State Innovation Models Initiative and Social Determinants of Health in ASCVD Hospitalizations
American Journal of Epidemiology · 2024
Food Environment Quality and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in the United States
Journal of General Internal Medicine · 2023
Marijuana Use Among Young Adults (18–44 Years) and Risk of Stroke
Stroke · 2020
News
Sep 2026
UDaily: with recreational cannabis legal in 24 states, our study takes a closer look at how medicinal and recreational users differ.
Jul 2026
New in J Med Surg Public Health: demographic and health profiles of medicinal, recreational, and dual cannabis use, using regression and tree-based methods.
Jan 2026
New in Sexuality and Disability: cervical cancer screening disparities at the intersection of disability and sexual orientation.
Sep 2025
In BMC Public Health: health vulnerabilities linked to disaster exposure among women in the ECHO cohort.
Jul 2025
UDaily covers our JACC: Advances study on rising cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome rates across the US.
Follow along
I share new papers, commentary, and updates from the field on LinkedIn.
Follow me on LinkedIn →
© 2026 Tarang Parekh · Epidemiologist & Health Services Researcher