Kosuke Tamura, Ph.D.
Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator
Dr. Kosuke Tamura staff profile | Lab members
Scientific Expertise
Social and spatial epidemiology, mobile health (mHealth), cardiovascular health, geospatial analysis, biomarkers of stress, mental health
Research and Programmatic Interests
Interests include the application of geospatial methodologies (geographic information systems [GIS], global positioning systems [GPS]) to address the limitations in neighborhood research.
Dr. Tamura examines associations between exposure to neighborhood features and contexts and cardiovascular health (risk factors, morbidity, and mortality) among children, adults, and older adults. He is keen on potentially explaining race and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health at the population level. He also applies wearable health devices and mobile health (mHealth) technologies to better understand real-time psychosocial factors (e.g., mood, stress) in relation to lifestyle behaviors via objective physical activity monitors, such as accelerometers.
Research Projects
Linking Neighborhood Contexts to Domain-Specific Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior
Activities Completed over Time in 24 Hours (ACT24) was designed to evaluate domain-specific physical activity and sedentary behavior. The lab linked neighborhood segregation indices to ACT24 data to better understand how segregation is related to specific types of physical activity and sedentary behavior among a representative sample of U.S. middle age-to-older adults.
Examining the Role of Neighborhoods on Cardiovascular Health (Risk Factors, Morbidity, and Mortality)
Using large NIH-funded cohort studies, such as the Jackson Heart Study, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults, the lab studies how neighborhood physical (e.g., street connectivity, mixture of land use) and social environments (e.g., violence, problems, social cohesion) impact cardiovascular health with a special emphasis on racial and ethnic minority groups.
Further, the lab investigates whether behaviors (e.g., sedentary behavior) and psychosocial stressors (e.g., discrimination, depression, etc.) mediate the relationships between neighborhood contexts and cardiovascular health risks (e.g., sleep, type 2 diabetes, etc.).
Simulating the Impact of Neighborhood Contexts and Health Behaviors and Outcomes
The lab aims to integrate the self-reported and objectively measured neighborhood characteristics through GIS and GPS technologies and individual behaviors via accelerometers as well as psychosocial stressors via ecological momentary assessment into systems modeling to elucidate the impact of dynamic changes and disparities in neighborhood factors and psychosocial stressors on cardiovascular health risks, such as physical activity and sedentary behavior.
Assessing Geospatial Patterns of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Centers
Using mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities data, the lab aims to better understand how those facilities across the United States are geospatially clustered over time and to elucidate mechanisms by which certain neighborhood contexts impact such geospatial patterns to address disparities in access to care.