Girardin Jean-Louis

Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD, is a Professor of Population Health and Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health. He is Director of the NHLBI-funded Program to Increase Diversity in Behavioral Medicine and Sleep Disorders Research (PRIDE) Summer Institute and Director of the T32 Program on Translational Behavioral Cardiovascular Health Research. He recently received an NIA Career Leadership Award to develop a Center on Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences. He served for three years on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)’s Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board, and for four years as a member of the Cancer, Heart, and Sleep Epidemiology (CHSB) study section, and the NHLBI Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group. He currently serves on the National Advisory Council for National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Dr. Jean-Louis has been involved in several important NIH-funded studies, which have led to over 375 publications, primarily in sleep and cardiometabolic diseases, circadian rhythm, aging, and health equity. His research findings have appeared in 180 scientific conference proceedings and book chapters and 210 peer-reviewed scientific journals. The overarching goal of his research is to address patient-, provider-, and system-level barriers hindering adoption of healthful practices. His research focuses on the application of tailored and agile behavioral models to enhance treatment adherence to reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, brain injury, and early mortality in disadvantaged minorities.

Dr. Jean-Louis’ research addresses how psychosocial and environmental determinants of health behavior prevent access to adequate care in low-income and black communities, which are disproportionately burdened by adverse cardiovascular outcomes. His current studies aim to identify barriers to diagnosis and treatment of sleep-related metabolic and brain health among minorities, and, to ascertain the effectiveness of agile behavioral models in improving adherence to recommended therapies. His studies also aim to engage patients, community providers, and stakeholders in developing messages to promote health literacy at the community level. By linking community health promotion to the healthcare system, Dr. Jean-Louis’s research and educational programs are helping to achieve objectives of the national mandate to increase health equity in vulnerable communities.