Kosuke Tamura PhD, MS

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.