Monthly Faculty Spotlight - December 2024
Q&A with Dr. Abu Mohammed Naser Titu, PhD, MPH, MBBS
Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health
- What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health?
The University of Memphis School of Public Health is a vital hub for advancing public health through education, research, and community engagement in the midsouth and greater Memphis region. I felt my work would improve population health outcomes in Memphis, a city with diverse population health needs. - What is the broad focus of your research?
Environmental epidemiological work focusing on cardiometabolic and kidney health outcomes. - What inspired you to pursue this particular area of research?
One of my research foci is how inadequate water and electrolyte intake influences health. I believe this is an important field in which little public health work has been done. - What is the most exciting project you are currently working on?
I am doing a nationwide secondary data analysis on how ambient heat influences kidney health among US veterans.
- How does your research impact or benefit the broader community or public health field?
My research is critical in improving community health by identifying links between environmental exposures and health outcomes. This research helps uncover the effects of pollutants, climate change, and hazardous substances on diseases like asthma, cancer, and cardiovascular conditions. By pinpointing risk factors, it informs public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing exposure to harmful agents. Communities benefit through improved water quality, safer living environments, and targeted health education. Additionally, such research empowers communities with data to advocate for sustainable practices, ensuring healthier living conditions and long-term well-being for present and future generations. - And how do you envision your research evolving in the next few years?
I plan to conduct more collaborative research with the medical communities in Memphis. - What is the coolest training or program you've been a part of, or your favorite conference
you've attended?
T32 postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University's Department of Epidemiology. The training cultivated my scientific thinking and reasoning, often missing in the PhD curriculum.
- What is your favorite self-authored manuscript?
One of my PhD papers published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (link below). https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/50/3/916/5870408 - What kind of research would you like to be doing that you haven't yet had the opportunity
to do?
I would love to do physiology-related laboratory work linked to temperature regulation and water balance. - Are there any publications, awards, or recognitions you would like us to include in
the spotlight?
I would love to highlight my R15 project funded by NIEHS, which links ambient temperature and kidney health. The exposure to higher ambient temperatures is increasing among the US population in major US cities and will continue to soar. Evaluating the health burden of high ambient heat is directly related to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' mission. This project will generate vital evidence to understand the high ambient heat-induced chronic kidney disease development, progression, and pathophysiology among the US population, which will help design climate-adaptive strategies to protect population health.