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Research

Research Areas of Interest

  • Border health
  • Climate health
  • Environmental toxicants and hazardous wastes
  • Global mental health
  • Global research ethics
  • Non-communicable diseases
  • Refugee and minority health
  • Chronic disease and interventions

Research in Progress: Non-Communicable Diseases

Cancer

  • Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD has been involved in a research project on early detection of bladder cancer in Mansoora, Egypt. In Collaboration with Dr. Ahmed Shokeir, the director of the Monsoora Hospital Urology and Renal Unit, they have been collecting urine samples from bladder cancer cases that are squaomous cell carcinomas and from non-cancer controls to assess the ability of biomarker assay sensitivity and specificity.

Maternal Health

  • Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH is leading a multi-site research project in Ukraine to examine the influence of maternal nutritional status among heavy alcohol-consuming pregnant women on the risk for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in children. This study is part of an international consortium with sites in South Africa, Italy, Finland, and elsewhere. 

Tobacco

Research in Progress: Refugee and Minority Health

  •  Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD is conducting a mental health and trauma assessment study among Iraqi and Somali refugees in San Diego. The study is in collaboration with local refugee organizations, the Division of Community Pediatrics and faculty from other institutions.

  • Tala Al-Rousan, MD, MPH, is leading the US-Middle East Migration and Health Initiative, a multi-disciplinary research center for building healthier, fairer and more inclusive societies and is currently working with Afghan, Middle Eastern, Burmese and East African refugees who have been resettled in San Diego.

Research in Progress: Global Research Ethics

Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD is involved in research ethics at the population level through his role as Chair of the Ethics and Philosophy Committee of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. As part of his role in the committee he is responsible for the development of policy and guidelines related to research ethics, organizing symposia and sessions at the annual conference , as well as initiating new areas of development for population research ethics among the 36 international members of the committee.