Epidemiology Research

The Epidemiology Department has a strong track record of research. The department conducts a wide range of investigations from molecular and genetic markers, plasma biomarkers, lifestyle factors to health informatics. In addition to the investigator-initiated research projects below, we are committed to multidisciplinary collaborative research toward assessing the distribution and determinants of human illness with the aim of establishing reasoned preventive and control measures.

Associate Professor

• Evaluation of DOH Capacity for Using EHR Data for Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance
  Public Health Informatics Institute | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Assessing Adherence to and Impact of Syphilis Testing in Pregnancy and STD Medical Examinations in Immigrants and Refugees
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Establishing a collaborating research center at Indiana University to improve population health integrated services and advanced analytics
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Regional Data Exchange to Improve Care for Veterans after Non-VA Hospitalization
  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Health Services Research & Development Service
• Advancing Methods to Measure and Improve the Quality of Large Scale Health Data
  National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
• Development of an Electronic Health Record Repository for Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries in Indiana: Toward a Rapid-Learning Health System
  Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Board, Indiana State Department of Health
• Improving Population Health through Enhanced Targeted Regional Decision Support
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Professor, Epidemiology Department Chair

Dr. Han leads genetic and molecular epidemiology studies of cancer etiology, prevention, outcome and global health. (1) He has been leading international consortia on genetic susceptibility to keratinocyte carcinoma. Currently he leads the post-“genome-wide association study” collaborative effort on integrative and functional analysis of genetic variants associated with skin cancer. He has also played a leading role in international collaborative consortia on pigmentary traits, skin and lung cancers. (2) He has studied breast cancer screening strategies. (3) He conducts data science and network research and pharmaco-epidemiology research. (4) Another area of his research interests is the opioid response-mediated addictive behavior of tanning bed usage. 

Visiting Lecturer

• Describing screening and diagnostic testing patterns for Lyme disease in Veterans
• Evaluating electronic health record data as a public health resource for determining valid measures of hypertension prevalence at the county-level
• Managing a traumatic brain injury cohort assembled from 11 years of clinical data from the Indiana Network for Patient Care
• Describing the epidemiology of shaken infant syndrome as a cause of traumatic brain injury in Indiana
• Assessing the role of adverse childhood experiences and traumatic brain injury in behavioral outcomes among children
• Leveraging electronic health record data to establish correlates of time to return to work among traumatic brain injury patients

Professor, Epidemiology PhD Program Director

• Racial/Ethnic Differences in 25(OH)D and PTH Levels and CVD among Women

Clinical Associate Professor

• Evaluation of the BeHealthy Indiana University worksite wellness program

Associate Professor

• Using Childs Genetic Risk to Stimulate Diabetes Risk Reducing Change in Families
  American Heart Association National Scientist Development Grant