Biography

Supriya Kumar, PhD received an MPH in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and a Certificate in Evaluation of Public Health Promotion and Health Education Programs from the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, in June 2009. She has a PhD in Biological Sciences, but looking for a more socially relevant research career, has found her calling in Public Health. With an interest in the social determinants of health in vulnerable populations, Supriya studied people’s perceptions of the food environment in African American neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, and found that people perceive that certain stores, which serve the Black community, are “lower priority” in terms of the quality of food and service. She now intends to explore ways to empower the community—through participatory research and interventions—to improve their nutrition environment. She has also been working on the challenges of risk communication with vulnerable populations. She intends to take this research forward by studying the challenges of communicating the risks and benefits of novel medical countermeasures authorized for emergency use during public health emergencies. Supriya has also conducted research in India, and has an interest in the parallels between the causes of health disparities in the US and internationally. Supriya will be at the University of Pittsburgh site.