David B Abrams

Dr. David B Abrams is a Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Previously, he held leadership roles including founding director of Brown University’s Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, director of NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and Professor of Health Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is also the founding Executive Director of the Schroeder National Institute of Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Truth Initiative. His work emphasizes systems science approaches to public health challenges, particularly tobacco/nicotine control, implementation science, and disaster-related health impacts.

Education details are not explicitly provided in the text. His research focuses on understanding how bio-behavioral mechanisms and policy interventions can mitigate health risks from disasters, climate change, and substance use. He examines disparities in health outcomes across populations, including racial/ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups. Key themes include the long-term health consequences of natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Sandy), the psychological effects of environmental stressors, and the role of trust in public health decision-making.

His research interests and publications highlight a strong emphasis on translational strategies to bridge scientific evidence and real-world policy. He has authored over 250 articles and a leading textbook on tobacco dependence treatment. His articles often explore the intersections of climate disasters, mental health, and health equity, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Recent work analyzes vaccine hesitancy dynamics during the pandemic and the compounded effects of environmental crises on marginalized communities.

Dr. Abrams has served on expert panels at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and held leadership roles in professional societies such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine, where he was President. He has also contributed to NIH grant initiatives and policy development at the national level.

In advising and grants, he has led numerous NIH-funded projects and spearheaded collaborative networks like the Public Health Extreme Events Research (PHEER) network. His work emphasizes long-term recovery strategies for disaster-affected populations and innovative solutions for health management in crises. He has studied housing instability, food insecurity, and social support mechanisms post-disaster, particularly for older adults and children. His research infrastructure includes longitudinal cohort studies, such as the Gulf Coast Population Impact Project and the Women and Their Children’s Health (WaTCH) study on oil spill effects.