New Faculty Spotlight: Hua Hao

Hua Hao, Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, strives to create opportunities for students to participate in research, publish their work and develop the skills and confidence needed for their future careers.

What inspired you to pursue a career in public health?
During my MPH at Emory, I realized that epidemiology combined everything I enjoyed most—asking important questions, analyzing complex data and finding evidence that can improve people's lives. I was especially drawn to environmental health because environmental exposures affect entire communities, often without people realizing it. Unlike many individual risk factors, improving the environment has the potential to benefit millions of people at once. That realization inspired me to pursue a career focused on identifying environmental risk factors before disease develops and generating evidence that can inform public health policy and protect vulnerable populations.

What attracted you to the GSU SPH?
I was drawn to Georgia State because of its collaborative culture, outstanding faculty and strong commitment to improving population health. Being in Atlanta also provides tremendous opportunities to collaborate with researchers, healthcare systems and public health partners across the region. As a junior faculty member, I especially appreciated the department’s supportive environment and its enthusiasm for helping new faculty build successful research and teaching programs. I look forward to working with colleagues across disciplines and contributing to the school’s mission of advancing health equity through impactful research and education.

How do you describe your research to people outside of your discipline?
Most people know that smoking, diet and exercise affect our health, but the environment around us matters too. My research studies how air pollution, wildfire smoke, extreme heat and other environmental exposures influence the risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. By combining large-scale health records with environmental data collected across the country, I try to identify preventable environmental risk factors and generate evidence that helps communities, healthcare providers and policymakers better protect public health.

What do you want students to gain from your instruction and mentorship?
I hope students leave my classroom with more than technical knowledge. I want them to learn how to think critically, ask meaningful research questions and use evidence to solve real-world public health problems. As a mentor, I strive to create opportunities for students to participate in research, publish their work and develop the skills and confidence needed for their future careers. My goal is to help each student become the person they aspire to be, whether that means pursuing academia, public health practice or another path.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my daughter, and making the most of opportunities to travel together. I also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, which gives me a chance to relax and be creative outside of research. Whether I'm exploring a new city or preparing a meal at home, I value the time I spend with family and friends and believe maintaining those connections helps me bring fresh energy and perspective back to my work.