معرفی
Mieka Smart is a Research Associate Professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a primary appointment in the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences. She serves as Deputy Director of the Tulane Health Equity Institute and Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Health Equity Scholars for Action program. Her work bridges public health research, policy evaluation, and equity-focused education.
Her academic training includes a DrPH and MHS from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She previously led the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved program at Michigan State University, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to training future leaders in global health equity.
Dr. Smart’s research centers on policy evaluation, health disparities, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), and observational epidemiology. She employs systematic social observation and geospatial methods to assess neighborhood effects on health outcomes, substance use, and educational performance. Her work spans the U.S. and global contexts, including East and South Africa.
Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on alcohol policy, neighborhood disorder, community health reporting, and social determinants of health. She frequently collaborates on studies involving urban environments, youth health, and structural interventions to reduce inequities. Her research has appeared in journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, and Child Youth Care Forum.
- Funding from Michigan Policy Institute for police use-of-force policy evaluation
- Funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation for 'Going Upstream to Mitigate Microaggression' workshop series
- MPI on NHLBI R25 grant: Research to Reduce Disparities in Disease
Dr. Smart has advised and trained numerous students through leadership programs and research initiatives. She leads the Health Equity Scholars for Action, an R25-funded program training medical students in public health research. She has directed global training programs and continues to mentor emerging scholars in health equity. Her work is supported by grants focused on education, policy evaluation, and community engagement. She leads interdisciplinary teams at the Tulane Health Equity Institute, fostering collaboration across public health, medicine, and social sciences.
