Social Epi Brown

Dr. Diana Grigsby-Toussaint

Founder and Director

Dr. Diana Grigsby-Toussaint is the founder of The Social Epidemiology Lab and an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and of Epidemiology at Brown School of Public Health. As a social epidemiologist, her research seeks to capture complex processes in the food, social, and built environments to facilitate a better understanding of their influence on what has been coined the three pillars of health: diet, physical activity, and sleep. She is particularly interested in vulnerable (e.g., low-income) and racial/ethnic populations across various stages of human development. Her work is grounded primarily in theoretical approaches from epidemiology (documenting determinants and distribution of risk in populations), nutrition (processes by which individuals obtain and utilize food), and geography (the role of place in shaping health risk). More reading

Core Team

Aliana Rodriguez Acevedo

Project Coordinator

Jue Yang

Postdoctoral Associate

Naomi Zeltzer

Research Assistant

Abby Katz

PHD Student


Madelyn Dewitt

MPH Student

Brooke Ury

Undergraduate Student

Zoe Maxwell

MPH Research Assistant


Isha Thakkar

Undergraduate Student

Bethel Daniel

Undergraduate Student

Past Members

Huy Tran

Research Assistant

Gabrielle Evans

Health Equity Scholar

Azia Johnson

Health Equity Scholar

Yaideliz Romero-Ramos

Health Equity Scholar


Diane Story

MPH Student

Will Kemball-Cook

Undergraduate Student

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