Andrew G Rundle, DrPH

  • Professor of Epidemiology
212-305-7619

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Overview

Dr. Rundle's research focuses on the determinants of sedentary lifestyles and obesity and the health related consequences of these conditions.

Dr. Rundle Co-directs the Built Environment and Health Research Group (beh.columbia.edu), a trans-disciplinary team of researchers studying how neighborhood built and social environments influence health, particularly physical activity and obesity risk. His work on urban design and neighborhood-level effects on health has been used as part of the scientific rationale for the New York City Active Design Guidelines and for the Mayor's Food Policy Task Force's Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) initiative. His work has been nationally recognized and he and his team are inaugural members of the American Institute of Architects Design and Health Research Consortium.

Dr. Rundle also heads the Childhood Obesity Research Project within the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. His work within the Children's Center focuses on the role of prenatal and early life exposures to pollutants as risk factors for childhood obesity.

He has a long standing interest in prostate cancer research, particularly the effects of obesity on prostate cancer detection, incidence and outcomes. He has collaborated with researchers at the Henry Ford Health System to study prostate cancer risk among men whose initial prostate biopsy revealed benign changes. Within the Department Dr. Rundle teaches the ""Environmental Epidemiology"" course, and serves as Co-Leader for the Social and Spatial Epidemiology Unit (www.socialepidemiology.net).

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Epidemiology

Administrative Titles

  • Project Leader (Childhood Obesity) Social and Spatial Epidemiology Unit, Co-Lead, Department of Epidemiology

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BS, SUNY Binghamton
  • MPH, 1994 Columbia University
  • DrPH, 2000 Columbia University

Committees, Societies, Councils

Member, Medical Advisory Board, EHE Health

Center for Active Design, Fitwel Certification Program Advisor

International WELL Building Institute, Subject Matter Experts Panel

Honors & Awards

National Cancer Institute Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Columbia School of Public Health, 1996

Environmental Health Sciences Award for Academic Excellence, Mailman School of Public Health, 2000

National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Health Disparities Scholar

TEDMED 2012 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Great Challenges Advocate for

Mailman School of Public Health, Dean

Research

Research Interests

  • Biostatistical Methods
  • Child and Adolescent Health
  • Chronic disease
  • Community Health
  • Environmental Health
  • Food Policy and Obesity
  • Public Health Education

Selected Publications

Kinsey EW, Widen EM, Quinn JW, Huynh M, Van Wye G, Lovasi GS, Neckerman KM, Rundle AG. Neighborhood walkability and poverty predict excessive gestational weight gain: A cross-sectional study in New York City. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Feb;30(2):503-514.

Rundle, AG, Heymsfield, SB. Can Walkable Urban Design Play a Role in Reducing the Incidence of Obesity-Related Conditions? JAMA. 2016 May 24-31;315(20):2175-7.

Rundle AG, Bader MD, Richards CA, Neckerman KM, Teitler JO. Using Google Street View to audit neighborhood environments. Am J Prev Med. 2011 Jan;40(1):94-100.

Rundle AG, Gallagher D, Herbstman JB, Goldsmith J, Holmes D, Hassoun A, Oberfield S, Miller RL, Andrews H, Widen EM, Hoepner LA, Perera F. Prenatal exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and childhood growth trajectories from age 5-14‚ÄØyears. Environ Res. 2019 Oct;177:108595.

Rundle AG, Park Y, Herbstman JB, Kinsey EW, Wang YC. COVID-19-Related School Closings and Risk of Weight Gain Among Children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020 Jun;28(6):1008-1009.

Rundle, A., Jankowski, M., Oleksandr, N., Tang, D., Rybicki, B. Obesity and future prostate cancer risk among men after an initial benign biopsy of the prostate. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 22, 898-904, 2013

Rundle AG, Vineis P, Ahsan H. Design options for molecular epidemiology research within cohort studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 14 1899-907 2005

Rundle, A., Richards, C., Neugut, AI. Body composition, abdominal fat distribution, and prostate-specific antigen test results. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention 18 331-6 2009

Rundle A, Roux AV, Free LM, Miller D, Neckerman KM, Weiss CC. The urban built environment and obesity in New York City: a multilevel analysis. American Journal of Health Promotion 21 326-34 2007

Rundle A, Neckerman KM, Freeman L, Lovasi GS, Purciel M, Quinn J, Richards C, Sircar N, Weiss C. Neighborhood food environment and walkability predict obesity in New York City. Environmental Health Perspectives 117 442-7 2009

Urban Health Activities

Built Environment and Health: Dr. Rundle is leading a series of studies to determine whether characteristics of neighborhood's social and built environments (e.g. access to public transport, parks, crime, zoning, trees, community gardens, traffic volume) influence health. The project is also developing novel methods to measure characteristics of neighborhoods. Much of this work is done in partnership with the NYCDOHMH.