Charles Branas

Charles Branas, PhD, is the Chair and Gelman Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University School of Public Health. He has held academic appointments at Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, Penn, the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, and the University of Otago in New Zealand. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Branas focuses on health determinants like urban environments, housing, and trauma care access.

• BA (1990): Franklin and Marshall College
• PhD (1998): Johns Hopkins University
• Postdoctoral Training (2000): University of California, Berkeley

His research spans urban health interventions, gun violence prevention, and health equity, with a focus on greening vacant spaces and CDC-funded injury research. Recent publications examine abandoned housing remediation, spatiotemporal modeling for COVID-19, and gun assault risk factors.

• National Academy of Medicine
• American Epidemiological Society
• American Trauma Society Outstanding Service Award

Branas has mentored scientists to leadership roles and secured NIH R01 grants for urban vacant lot stabilization. He serves on editorial boards for the International Journal of Epidemiology and Injury Epidemiology, and advises on firearm-related harms and climate policy integration into violence prevention.