Dr. Chu is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Public Health and Community Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. As an environmental epidemiologist, she is invested in community-engaged research on social, structural, and environmental determinants of health for Asian and immigrant populations, particularly in the built environments.
She is currently collaborating with community partners to investigate acculturation and environmental risk factors of gestational diabetes for Asian immigrants; air pollution, heat stress, and urban design disparities across open spaces in Boston’s Chinatown; and cultural responsiveness of mental health resources for Asian populations. Prior to Tufts, she was a postdoctoral scientist at the George Washington University where she examinedtheimpactoffederalhousingassistanceonresidentialenvironmentalhazards. She has also worked at the MassachusettsDepartmentofPublicHealth andtheAgencyforToxicSubstancesandDiseaseRegistry.
Dr. Chu is a JPB in Environmental Health Fellow, a former Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellow, and one of Popular Science’s Brilliant 10. She received her PhD in Population Health Sciences from Harvard University, a MSPH in Environmental Health and Epidemiology from Emory University, and a BA in Neuroscience from Smith College.