Faculty Profile

Roshanak Mehdipanah

Roshanak Mehdipanah, PhD, MS

  • Associate Professor, Health Behavior and Health Equity

Dr. Mehdipanah's research focuses on urban health including urban renewal, gentrification and their impacts on health inequities. She is particularly interested in examining the health impacts of housing policies. She specializes in innovative research methods including realist evaluations and concept mapping to develop conceptual frameworks linking complex interventions to health. Dr. Mehdipanah is the co-lead for the Public Health IDEAS for Creating Healthy and Equitable Cities and the Director of the Housing Solutions For Health Equity initiative.

  • PhD, University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, 2014
  • MS, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, 2010
  • HBS, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2008

Research Interests:
  • urban health
  • built environment
  • housing
  • gentrification
  • health inequities.
Research Projects:
  • Mehdipanah's research in Detroit explores the impact of housing programs on the stability and health of residents.
  • Mehdipanah's research focuses on the intersection of housing, race, age, and socio-economic status.
  • Mehdipanah has collaborations in Spain to examine the impact of urban revitalization efforts on health and health inequities.

Mehdipanah R, Briceno EM, Heeringa SG, Gonzales X, Levine DA, Langa KM, Garcia N, Longoria R, Chang W, Morgenstern LB. (2022) Neighborhood disadvantage and dementia: Does where you live matter? AJPM, 63(4), 574-581

Mehdipanah R, Eisenberg A, Dewar M. Threats to and opportunities for low-income homeownership, housing stability, and health: Protocol for the Detroit 2017 Make-It-Home evaluation study. PLOS One

Bushman G, Mehdipanah R (2021) Housing and health inequities during COVID-19: Findings from the national Household Pulse Survey. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. doi:10.1136/jech-2021-216764

Koeman J, Mehdipanah R (2021) Prescribing Housing: A scoping review of health system efforts to address housing as a social determinant of health. Population health management. 24(3), 316-321

Mehdipanah R (2020) Housing as a determinant of COVID-19 inequities. American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1369-1370

Email: [email protected] 
Office: 734-763-1788
Address: 3838 SPH I
1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

For media inquiries: [email protected] 

Areas of Expertise: Aging,  Environmental Health,  Health Equity,  Racism,  Urban Health

Roshanak Mehdipanah in the News

A sidewalk behind an complex of buildings.

Prevention Research Center of Michigan tackles vacant lots, built environments to improve health, well-being

Renewed $5 million in CDC funding expands academic-community partnerships in Flint, Michigan

Elements of health equity: fresh food, medical care, housing, clean air, and physical activity

U-M selected as NIH research hub for nationwide effort to enhance community-led, health equity work

Hubs are part of National Institutes of Health Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society

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