Nadia S. Islam

I am a medical sociologist and an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health.

My research focuses on developing culturally relevant community–clinical linkage models to reduce cardiovascular disease and diabetes disparities in disadvantaged communities.

I lead, as principal investigator, several National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded initiatives evaluating the impact of community health worker intervention on chronic disease management and prevention in diverse populations.

I also direct the cardiovascular disease and diabetes research track for the NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health, which is dedicated to reducing health disparities facing Asian American communities. It is a National Research Center of Excellence, funded through by the NIH. I am also research director at the NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center and principal investigator of a CDC–funded Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program project.

My work has been featured in the American Journal of Public Health, Diabetes Care, and numerous other peer-reviewed journals. Along with Chau Trinh-Shevrin, DrPH, and Mariano Jose Rey, MD, I am co-editor of Asian American Communities and Health (Jossey-Bass, 2009).

I received my doctorate in sociomedical sciences from Columbia University. I currently serve on the American Diabetes Association task force on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders. I previously served on the board of the Public Health Association of New York City and as chair of the Asian and Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health of the American Public Health Association.