Shannon N. Zenk, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., FAAN
Director, NINR and Adjunct Investigator
Neighborhoods and Health Lab
Dr. Shannon N. Zenk staff profile | Lab members
Scientific Expertise
Neighborhoods, activity space, food and built environments, spatiotemporal methodologies, intensive longitudinal analyses, health disparities, environmental exposures, nutrition, physical activity, climate change
Research and Programmatic Interests
Interests include examining the role of environmental exposures in health disparities; specifically, conducting observational and intervention research projects focused on social disparities and health with a goal of identifying effective approaches and informing policy to improve health and eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities. Research projects conducted by Dr. Zenk’s lab use a contextual and spatial lens to analyze data on community environments as well as examine impacts of these exposures on health and health behaviors.
Research Projects
UrbanHEAT
Climate change-related increases in urban heat have been shown in observational data and are predicted to get more extreme.
Climate and environmental disparities research has shown that urban neighborhoods with large racial and ethnic minority populations or high poverty rates experience higher temperatures, largely related to fewer resources, such as parks, street trees, and cooling street construction materials. In addition, residents move throughout urban spaces over the course of days, weeks, and seasons, and those movements have rarely been accounted for in exposure studies. Several heat-health research studies have measured exposure at the macro level and thus fail to account for variability in exposure within and between persons across time.
To close these gaps, we are collecting data using wearable monitors, ecological momentary assessment surveys, and environmental modeling to understand the role of heat exposures in health behaviors and outcomes at individual and community levels.
SchoolHEAT
This project expanded on recognition of neighborhood-based disparities in heat to include school environments.
School environments are critical for children’s physical activity and learning and have health-relevant impacts on diet, sleep, and mental health. This project synthesizes several different data sources, including school catchment areas and satellite imagery, to analyze heat exposure at elementary schools across the 48 contiguous U.S. states and the District of Columbia and to examine disparities in heat exposures between neighborhoods with different socioeconomic and racial composition.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Evaluation
As temperatures rise due to the increasing effects of climate change, the ability for people to cool their homes has become a necessity.
LIHEAP is a multi-billion dollar government program with an initial charge to provide financial support related to heating costs to households. In response to rising temperatures and increased frequency of heat waves, LIHEAP agencies have dedicated programmatic funds, including financial assistance, for cooling as well.
Using LIHEAP state program data, electronic medical record data, and weather data, we are evaluating this program for its ability to reduce heat exposure-related morbidity.
Intramural and Extramural Collaborations
We collaborate with a wide variety of research groups (e.g., Socio-Spatial Determinants of Health Laboratory, Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism, Jackson Heart Study) contributing expertise on environmental measurement and interpretation.
Kelly K. Jones, Ph.D., R.N. Geospatial Health Data Analyst
Dr. Kelly K. Jones staff profile
Scientific Expertise
Neighborhoods, environmental exposure, climate change, spatial analysis, measurement
Research and Programmatic Interests
Primary scientific interest is the measurement of environmental exposure for use in behavioral research. Dr. Jones has expertise in both static and dynamic environments and draws on data ranging from satellite to municipal records. The goal of this research is to reduce health disparities and inform policy that builds healthy urban environments for all.