About Healthy Living Initiative

Meet Dr. Hanaa HamdI 

Hanaa A. Hamdi, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark.

Dr. Hamdi is systems scientist, she holds a joint PhD in Urban Public Health & Environment from Rutgers, UMDNJ and NJIT, College of Architecture. Her research examines the impact of social and structural exposures on health outcomes. More specifically, her work focuses on neighborhood characteristics (i.e. food environment, open space, community-level violence, and community resiliency) and metabolic syndrome.

Dr. Hamdi is trained in mix method research, she has extensive training in longitudinal and repeated measure designs, cluster analysis (cognitive mapping), and spatial analysis of cluster and non-parametric events (i.e. density of crime, food venue outlets, healthcare facilities) with GIS. In addition, Dr. Hamdi has a strong background in qualitative research design and analysis; she specializes in methods of Grounded Theory, phenomenology and content analysis.

Dr. Hamdi is the Principal Investigator of the Healthy Living Initiative, a multicomponent longitudinal community programing and intervention studies designed to improve children's health through community development and revitalization programs, health policy and behavioral modification.

Dr. Hamdi earned her first bachelor's degree from University of California San Diego and San Diego State University where she majored in Neuropsychology and double minored in Mathematics and Languages—Romance and Arabic. She earned an advanced bachelor's degree from Hunter College's School of Public Health in Community Health Education and Social Epidemiology.

In addition to her academic training, Dr. Hamdi has extensive work experience in program implementation and evaluation. From 2002-2006 Dr. Hamdi served as the regional Director of Projects on CDC funded HIV/AIDS prevention case management programs in New York State. In this capacity Dr. Hamdi, provided scientific guidance and oversaw the administrative progress of prevention programs. Also in this capacity, she co-chaired the evaluation working group on HIV/AIDS intervention studies at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of New York City.

Dr. Hamdi has lectured at national and international level on topics related to social and structural determinants of health. In addition to her work in the US, Dr. Hamdi is a visiting lecturer at Botswana University.

In her spare time Dr. Hamdi enjoys long distance running, playing the guitar, and cooking for friends and family.