Jingjing Gao

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About

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public Health. My research lies at the intersection of public health, Geographic Information Science (GIS), and public policy, with a focus on using modern technologies to improve health outcomes in areas such as cancer, dementia, and surrogacy. I analyze large-scale data—including social media sentiment, mobile mobility data, and geospatial information—to evaluate public health interventions and monitor population-level health trends that inform effective policy decisions. Over the past, I have published multiple peer-reviewed articles and a scholarly book exploring how emerging technologies and policies influence health behaviors and disparities. My work draws on interdisciplinary collaborations across Public Health, Public Policy, Data Science, and Political Science to assess health outcomes, particularly during crises. My ongoing research investigates how health policies and innovative technologies affect disadvantaged communities, focusing on outcomes such as mobility, vaccination rates, and physical and mental health. I integrate data from Twitter, SafeGraph, and other digital platforms to provide timely, actionable insights. I am deeply committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and have partnered with colleagues from a variety of institutions to advance evidence-based, technology-driven public health research.

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Research Interests

• Aging / Gerontology
• Biostatistics and Data Science
• Cancer
• Community Health
• Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Epidemiology
• Geospatial Analyses

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Personal Links

• https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lfGxyQQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao