Ryan Ramphul

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About

Dr. Ryan Ramphul is a Spatial Epidemiologist and founding director of the UTHealth Place and Health Lab (PAHL), which studies how geography, environment, and community context influence health outcomes. His research integrates geospatial analytics with population health data to identify neighborhood-level drivers of chronic disease, cancer, and access to care, translating spatial evidence into actionable public health solutions. Dr. Ramphul leads projects on food insecurity, neighborhood disadvantage, and environmental exposures, with support from the National Cancer Institute, Texas Department of State Health Services, and Episcopal Health Foundation. He also serves as Co-Director of the UTHealth-MD Anderson Joint Collaborative on Geospatial Analysis and Health, providing technical expertise to researchers and community partners. Dr. Ramphul teaches Fundamentals and Applications of GIS and Epidemiologic Methods in Population Health Disparities, and mentors students across multiple campuses. Through PAHL, he collaborates with organizations such as Texas Children’s Hospital, the Houston Food Bank, and Air Alliance Houston to develop mapping tools and dashboards that help communities understand how place shapes health, opportunity, and well-being.

Center Affiliation

• Center for Health Equity
• Center for Spatial Temporal Modeling for Applications in Population Sciences

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Research Interests

• Aging / Gerontology
• Biostatistics and Data Science
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Community Health
• Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Environmental Science
• Epidemiology
• Geospatial Analyses
• Injury and Violence
• Population Health
• Prevention and Wellness
• Social Determinants of Health
• Substance Use