Esra OzdenerolView profile
Professor
Esra Ozdenerol is a Professor of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Memphis since 2003. She directs the GIS Certificate Program and the Spatial Analysis and Geographic Education Laboratory. Additionally, she is affiliated with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Health Outcome Policy. Previously, she served as Associate Director of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change (2010–2013) and was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Florida International University (2000–2003). Educations: Ph.D., Geography (Louisiana State University, 2000); MLA, Landscape Architecture (LSU, 1996); BS, Agricultural Engineering: Landscape Architecture (Ankara University, Turkey, 1993). Her research focuses on GIS applications in public health, medical geography, landscape ecology, and gender equity. Notable areas include Lyme disease epidemiology, spatial health disparities, and geospatial analysis of social determinants of health. She also advocates for gender equity in STEM through projects like the ASPIRED initiative. Ozdenerol has consulted for public, government, and international agencies on GIS and spatial analysis. Her recent work addresses pandemic management (e.g., MEMPHI-SYS for COVID-19 data integration) and environmental health (e.g., lead exposure in children). She has collaborated on studies linking land-use changes, wildlife ecology, and public health outcomes. Ozdenerol’s interdisciplinary approach bridges geospatial technologies with community health and policy.










