Research Interests
Dr. Hajat’s current environment health research focuses on environmental health disparities and environmental justice and include an intervention study to examine the effectiveness of low-cost box fans and filters in improving indoor air and reducing asthma symptoms among children. Using community based participatory research methods, this study partners with community organizations in the Duwamish Valley to empower local communities towards action. Dr. Hajat is also interested in other environmental factors such as greenspace and focuses primarily on chronic conditions over the life course. In addition, she has a line of research that examines the health impacts of precarious employment. Her team has produced much of the US-based evidence showing that poor quality employment is detrimental to worker’s health. Lastly, she is interested in biomarkers that are impacted by social and environmental stressors; this line of research aims to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which social stressors cause disease.
Education
PhD Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, 2010
MPH Epidemiology, International Health, University of Michigan, 1998
BA International Affairs, George Washington University, 1995
In the News
New research project aims to reduce asthma cases in Duwamish valley
KUOW, 05/31/2023
Lower your risk for dementia by spending time in nature
The Washington Post, 02/02/2023
Young kids who breathe polluted air in high-poverty areas can fall behind in school, study finds
The Washington Post, 11/30/2022
In King County, pollution makes ZIP codes predictors of your health
Crosscut, 11/02/2020
Amid worst air in the world, many unhoused communities left unprotected
Vice, 09/25/2020
Wildfire smoke’s health impacts have only just begun
Crosscut, 09/21/2020
White parents: Talking to your children about racism is part of the solution
The Hill, 07/11/2020
With coronavirus, prison and jail sentences could become death sentences
The Seattle Times, 03/31/2020
Air pollution could make the COVID-19 pandemic worse for some people
The Verge, 03/19/2020
UW study: Is there a secret recipe for getting the most out of workers?
My Northwest, 10/02/2019