Leading Public Health Education at O'Donnell School

Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., serves as the chair designate of Epidemiology at OSPH and as the Director of Implementation Research in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. He, a Johns Hopkins-trained epidemiologist and National Academy of Medicine member, served as the Chair of Department of Epidemiology at Tulane University.

Dr. He has significantly contributed to cardiovascular epidemiology, participating in over 50 NIH research projects totaling over $200 million in funding. As Principal Investigator, he led 24 projects with costs exceeding $98 million. He has authored or co-authored more than 700 peer-reviewed papers, published in top journals like NEJM, The Lancet, JAMA, Nature, and Science, and is consistently ranked among the most highly cited epidemiologists globally.

Anna Rivara, M.P.H., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at OSPH. Coming from Yale, her multidisciplinary training in public health and applied biocultural critical medical anthropology focuses on understanding structural violence, policy, and health disparities. At Yale, where she worked since 2018, she conducted global health research, including a study in Samoa on cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk. She received a NIDDK K01 award and a Yale Center for Clinical Investigation Scholar award for her work on diabetes care preferences and health system readiness in Samoa. Her teaching and research emphasize the integration of mixed methods to improve health outcomes in marginalized communities.

David Lopez, M.S., M.P.H., Dr.PH., joins OSPH as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology, bringing expertise as a cancer epidemiologist focused on health disparities in prostate and hormone-dependent and obesity-related cancers. His research examines how factors such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diet influence cancer risk and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the role of race and ethnicity. Dr. Lopez is actively involved in several professional organizations and serves as Section Editor for Urological Cancers in the American Journal of Men’s Health.

Revathy Suryanarayana, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Health Economics and Policy who recently graduated from Cornell University, where she completed her PhD at the Brooks School of Public Policy. She has a proven track record of publishing in reputable academic journals and securing external research funding through grants. Throughout her graduate studies, she collaborated with economists, public policy experts, and medical professionals, and successfully obtained a pilot award from the NIDA-funded Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH). As an educator, she emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has experience teaching a variety of courses in economics and public policy.

Sarah Messiah, M.P.H., Ph.D. is the Director of the Child and Adolescent Population Health Program and Professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern. With extensive expertise in epidemiology and a focus on childhood obesity and cardio metabolic disease, Dr. Messiah is internationally recognized for her work in school-based interventions. As the National Chair of The Obesity Society’s annual planning committee for Obesity Week and a Fellow of the Obesity Society, her leadership is widely respected.

Yingjie Qiu, M.S., Ph.D., joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor in Biostatistics. He holds a Ph.D. in Biostatistics & Health Data Science from Indiana University School of Medicine and Fairbanks School of Public Health. Dr. Qiu’s expertise lies in developing statistical methodologies to address real-world challenges, with a focus on clinical trial designs, missing data analysis, and methods for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics. He has contributed to multiple collaborative projects, publishing significant research in medicine, public health, and biology. Dr. Qiu is dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and translating statistical insights to drive clinical decisions and research directions.

Alejandra Fernandez, M.S., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth Houston. Dr. Fernandez received their Ph.D. in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017. Her research focuses on ecological factors and family functioning related to health outcomes such as substance use and obesity, particularly within Hispanic populations. Dr. Fernandez aims to develop multi-level family-based interventions to improve health outcomes by addressing cultural and societal factors.

Mingyue Li, M.P.H., Ph.D. is an Instructor in Biostatistics. She brings a comprehensive background in molecular and genetic epidemiology, with a focus on understanding the interplay between genetics, environmental factors, and diseases, particularly cancers. Dr. Li holds a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Indiana University, with a minor in Bioinformatics, and has experience identifying genetic variants linked to cancer susceptibility and exploring metabolic pathways influencing mitochondrial health. Her role as a research assistant and experience as a Merck Health Economics and Outcome Research Associate have equipped her with skills in handling large datasets and mentoring students.

Samaah Sullivan, M.P.H., Ph.D., joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor in Epidemiology. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth Houston. Prior to UTHealth, Dr. Sullivan spent five years at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, first as a postdoctoral fellow on a T32 focused on cardiovascular inequalities and then as an Instructor.

Her research investigates the biological embedding of psychosocial stress and social disadvantage, particularly among women, and has revealed critical sex differences in how stress affects cardiovascular health. Recognized by the American Heart Association and the NIH, Dr. Sullivan's work has also received accolades such as third place in the American Heart Association’s Research Goes Red Data Challenge.

Hui (Henry) Luan, Ph.D., joins the School as an Assistant Professor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor in spatial epidemiology at the University of Oregon and received his doctoral from the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Luan’s research focuses on using data-driven and computational approaches, including Bayesian spatiotemporal statistics and GIS techniques, to study geographical and racial disparities in HIV. He have successfully secured six grants and their work has been recognized by various organizations, including the American Heart Association and the NIH.

Dr. Luyu (Amber) Xie joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor. She joins us from University of Texas Health Science Center, where she earned her her Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics and her PharmD from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her research focuses on utilizing real-world data, including surveys, electronic health records, and claims data, to enhance our understanding of chronic diseases such as asthma, obesity, and cardiovascular conditions.

Dr. Xie has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including articles in high-impact journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Network Open, and Circulation. She is a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, the American Heart Association, and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology.