About Me
I am an assistant professor in the Department Social Sciences and Health Policy and a core faculty member of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. I am a public health and policy researcher who employs geographic information systems (GIS) and equity-centered analyses to understand how health behaviors and outcomes are related to the social and built environments in which people live, work and interact. The goal of my research is to promote healthier and equitable neighborhoods through fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary partnerships. A core component of my research is focused on intervening upon the inequitable neighborhood availability and marketing of unhealthy commodities, such as tobacco, alcohol and cannabis products. My work also critically evaluates the potential for public health interventions and policies to eliminate or unintentionally exacerbate health inequities.
I have expertise in critical public health, health behavior, tobacco control, intersectionality, GIS and multilevel quantitative methods. I have served as a paid expert consultant in litigation against the tobacco industry, and I have been published in leading tobacco control and public health journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, Health & Place, JAMA Network Open, and Tobacco Control. My work has also been cited by leading public health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the Public Health Law Center. Please email me at akong@wakehealth.edu if you are interested in collaborative or mentorship opportunities.