Tamara Dubowitz, Sc.D., M.S., M.Sc. (she/her), is a social epidemiologist and an expert in food insecurity, neighborhood influences on health, and the health impact of social and nutrition policy. Her research focuses on the role of place and geography in shaping the health and health behaviors of marginalized populations, particularly in view of policies affecting housing, urban planning and food security. Over the past 20 years, she has built multidisciplinary research teams and led projects that bridge academic institutions and historically disinvested communities.
In 2010, Dr. Dubowitz launched the first of a suite of National Institutes of Health–funded studies based in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhood Change and Health (PHRESH). This research has explored how neighborhood investments and changes—including the opening of a full-service supermarket in a food desert, housing and greenspace improvements, and commercial development—have impacted diet and food purchasing, physical activity, sleep, cardiovascular health and cognitive outcomes.
Dr. Dubowitz earned her Sc.D. and M.S. from the Harvard School of Public Health and her M.Sc. from the University of Pennsylvania. She spent more than two years working on women's health programs and development with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
