Kosuke Tamura, Ph.D.

Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator, NIH
Distinguished Scholar
Division of Intramural Research
kosuke.tamura@nih.gov
301-480-3954

Dr. Kosuke Tamura is a Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and NIH Distinguished Scholar, and runs the Socio-Spatial Determinants of Health (SSDH) Laboratory in the Division of Intramural Research at NIMHD.

His research has focused on applying geospatial methodologies (geographic information systems and global positioning systems) to objectively quantify neighborhood environmental exposures and the associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, such as physical activity and obesity among children and adults, as well as minority individuals. Examples of his ongoing work include investigating how exposure to neighborhood social environments impacts biomarkers of CVD risk in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Tamura completed the first phase of a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he studied the food environment and childhood obesity in New York City. He completed the second phase of the postdoctoral fellowship at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), where he studied neighborhood social environment and CVD risk.

Dr. Tamura earned a Ph.D. in health and kinesiology from Purdue University, where he studied the built environment in relation to physical activity and obesity from a geospatial perspective. He also received a Master of Science degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Ohio University, and a Bachelor of Laws degree in political science from Komazawa University in Tokyo, Japan.

Selected Publications

1. Tamura, K., Curlin, K., Neally, S. J., Vijayakumar, N. P., Mitchell, V. M., Collins, B. S., Gutierrez-Huerta, C., Troendle, J. F., Baumer, Y., Baah, F. O., Turner, B. S., Gray, V., Tirado, B. A., Ortiz-Chaparro, E., Berrigan, D., Mehta, N.N., Vaccarino, V., Zenk, S. N., & Powell-Wiley, T. M. (2021). Geospatial Analysis of Neighborhood Environmental Stress in Relation to Biological Markers of Cardiovascular Health and Health Behaviors in Women: Protocol for a Pilot Study. JMIR Res Protoc, 10(7), e29191. doi:10.2196/29191
2. Tamura, K., Langerman, S. D., Orstad, S. L., Neally, S. J., Andrews, M. R., Ceasar, J. N., Sims, M., & Powell-Wiley, T. M. (2020). Physical Activity-Mediated Associations Between Perceived Neighborhood Social Environment and Depressive Symptoms Among Jackson Heart Study Participants. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 17(1), 91. doi:10.1186/s12966-020-00991-y
3. Claudel, S. E., Tamura, K., Troendle, J. F., Andrews, M. R., Ceasar, J. N., Mitchell, V. M., Vijayakumar, N., & Powell-Wiley, T. M. (2020). Comparing Methods to Identify Wear-Time Intervals for Physical Activity With the Fitbit Charge 2. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. 29(3), 529-535. doi:10.1123/japa.2020-0059
4. Elbel, B., Tamura, K., McDermott, Z. T., Wu, E., & Schwartz, A. E. (2020). Childhood Obesity and the Food Environment: A Population-Based Sample of Public School Children in New York City. Obesity (Silver Spring), 28(1), 65-72. doi:10.1002/oby.22663
5. Tamura, K., Langerman, S. D., Ceasar, J. N., Andrews, M. R., Agrawal, M., & Powell-Wiley, T. M. (2019). Neighborhood Social Environment and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 13(4), 7. doi:10.1007/s12170-019-0601-5
6. Tamura, K., Wilson, J. S., Goldfeld, K., Puett, R. C., Klenosky, D. B., Harper, W. A., & Troped, P. J. (2019). Accelerometer and GPS Data to Analyze Built Environments and Physical Activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 90(3), 395-402. doi:10.1080/02701367.2019.1609649

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Page updated May 3, 2022