Howard Chang, PhD

Research Program

Cancer Prevention and Control
Phone Number

404-712-4627
Email Address

howard.chang@emory.edu

Biography

Howard Chang, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Chang is a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

Education

Dr. Chang earned his PhD in biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University. Following this, he was a Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) postdoctoral fellow at Duke University and North Carolina State University.

Titles & Roles

Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University

Professional Memberships

Dr. Chang is a member of the HERCULES Exposome Research Center and the Emory Climate & Health Actionable Research and Translation Center.

Research

Dr. Chang has been involved in the planning, management and analysis of various study designs (e.g. panel, cohort, case-control and randomized trials), especially for environmental health studies. He currently co-leads multiple NIH R01 and R21 projects that utilize large databases, such as birth/death certificates, hospital billing records and disease surveillance systems, to conduct large-scale population health studies. He also has collaborative experience in air quality modeling, environmental epidemiology, social epidemiology, disease ecology, climate science and community intervention trials.

Publications

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Short-term associations between ambient air pollution and emergency department visits for Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, migraine, and seizure in California, 2005-2018. Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.)	S Chen, D Zhang, R Zhang, M Lane, NC Scovronick, ST Ebelt, HH Chang	02/01/2026
Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke particulate matter and incident stroke: a US nationwide study. European heart journal	H Hao, K Xu, D Zhang, Y Deng, T Benmarhnia, Q Pu, VK Pattisapu, K Steenland, HH Chang, A Alonso, Y Liu	01/27/2026
Associations between prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants and preterm birth in the Atlanta African American maternal-child cohort. Environmental health : a global access science source	Y Tan, Z Li, AL Dunlop, M Ren, HH Chang, Z Jin, JA Sarnat, A Huels, SM Eick, CC Ekenga, A Russell, C Marsit, D Liang	01/26/2026
Extreme ambient heat and outcomes of assisted reproduction in the continental United States, 1996 to 2018. Environmental research	AJ Gaskins, AJ Newman, JF Kawwass, HH Chang	01/14/2026
The Role of Social Support as a Buffer Against Adverse Birth Outcomes Among People Experiencing Neighbourhood Deprivation. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology	MA Dixon, S Chandrasekaran, HH Chang, MR Kramer, TT Lewis, PP Howards	01/11/2026
Ambient Temperature and Risk of Renal Colic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Kidney medicine	H Mazumder, EP Gain, MH Shimul, F Farah, N Alam, X Mou, F Mzayek, C Jia, MP Smeltzer, H Zhang, HH Chang, RL Davis, JS Fu, CP Kovesdy, MM Hossain, AM Naser	01/01/2026
County-Level Influenza-Attributable Emergency Department Visits and Their Spatial Correlates in the United States: Cross-Sectional Observational Study. JMIR public health and surveillance	XF Huang, JL Warren, S Lin, S Ebelt, HH Chang	12/30/2025
Modeling approaches for estimating the effects of risk factors using longitudinal lifecourse exposure data in dementia research. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association	E Nichols, A Bindas, S Atshan, H Chang, YY Chiang, B Claus Henn, E Hayes-Larson, KP Keller, KL Kezios, RA Shih, AA Szpiro, J Weiss, SD Adar, DM Knapp, J Lee, J Weuve	12/01/2025
Effects of Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution on Human Metabolome in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Environmental science & technology	D Wang, C Liu, YA Ko, HH Chang, Z Jin, Y Tan, V Tran, DP Jones, AA Quyyumi, D Liang	11/22/2025
Critical windows of prenatal heat exposure and preterm birth: Metabolomic study in the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort. Science advances	KR Taibl, PA Bhanushali, AL Dunlop, HH Chang, DB Barr, Y Tan, Z Jin, N Scovronick, SM Eick, PB Ryan, JA Sarnat, CJ Marsit, DP Jones, D Liang	11/21/2025
Key research priorities in methodological approaches for measuring the exposome and studying its role in the development of dementia. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association	E Nichols, KP Keller, H Chang, YY Chiang, AL Gross, E Hayes-Larson, B Claus Henn, KL Kezios, E Meijer, RA Shih, AA Szpiro, J Weiss, J Weuve, SD Adar, J Lee	11/01/2025
Identifying county-level effect modifiers of the association between heat waves and preterm birth using a Bayesian spatial meta regression approach. Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology	S Lin, HH Chang, LA Darrow, MJ Strickland, A Fitch, A Newman, X Zheng, JL Warren	11/01/2025
Patterns of Non-fatal Overdose and Injection-Related Bacterial Infections During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Year Among New York State Residents. Maternal and child health journal	HLF Cooper, RR D'Souza, HH Chang, E Peterson, E Rogers, S Wien, SC Blake, MR Kramer	10/14/2025
Modeling heterogeneity in air pollution mixture effects on birth weight: A spatially varying coefficient approach. Annals of epidemiology	J Englert, H Chang	10/09/2025
Exposure to Household Air Pollution From Biomass Cooking and Severe Pneumonia in Infants. JAMA network open	JP McCracken, ED McCollum, K Steenland, L Nicolaou, MA Kirby, LM Grajeda, G Rosa, A Mukeshimana, F Ndagijimana, K Balakrishnan, G Thangavel, SS Garg, S Sambandam, K Mukhopadhyay, V Aravindalochanan, A Díaz-Artiga, A Castañaza, LM Thompson, M Chiang, SM Hartinger, SM Simkovich, LA Waller, HH Chang, S Jabbarzadeh, J Wang, Y Chen, LP Naeher, A Pillarisetti, M Johnson, KN Williams, LJ Underhill, AT Papageorghiou, TF Clasen, JL Peel, W Checkley	10/01/2025
Lessons from a long cohort study of diabetes in South Asia. Nature medicine	SA Patel, D Kondal, M Deepa, HH Chang, V Radha, S Mohan, YV Sun, AA Quyyumi, MK Ali, N Tandon, V Mohan, D Prabhakaran, KMV Narayan	09/12/2025
Differential Effects of Wildfire Smoke Pm_2.5 Exposure on Respiratory Disease Emergency Department Visits in the Western United States. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine	W Wang, L Li, Q Zhu, RR D'Souza, D Zhang, H Zhang, S Ebelt, HH Chang, A Alonso, Y Liu	09/10/2025
Prenatal Nitrogen Oxide (NO_x) and Its Potential Impact on Infant Metabolism during the First Month of Life: Evidence from Two Distinct Cohorts─The Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort and the Southern California Mother's Milk Study. Environmental science & technology	EA Holzhausen, Y Tan, N Young, RB Jones, Z Tang, JA Sarnat, F Lurmann, HH Chang, V Tran, DP Jones, MI Goran, AL Dunlop, D Liang, TL Alderete	09/04/2025
Wildland Fire-Related Smoke PM_2.5 and Cardiovascular Disease Emergency Department Visits in the Western United States. Journal of the American Heart Association	L Li, W Wang, HH Chang, A Alonso, Y Liu	09/02/2025
Associations Between Exposure to Extreme Ambient Heat During Periconception and Gastroschisis in Georgia, USA: A Population-Based, Matched Case-Control Study. Birth defects research	S LaPointe, X Zheng, V Kancherla, HH Chang, AJ Gaskins	09/01/2025
Modeling Joint Health Effects of Environmental Exposure Mixtures With Bayesian Additive Regression Trees. Statistics in medicine	JR Englert, ST Ebelt, HH Chang	09/01/2025
Longitudinal insights into the natural history of Type 2 diabetes among Koreans: A 20-year community-based prospective cohort study. Journal of internal medicine	W Choi, JH Moon, HJ Choe, HH Chang, D Kondal, KMV Narayan, NH Cho	08/26/2025
Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Blood Pressure: Results from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences	JL Peel, HH Chang, K Steenland, LJ Underhill, W Ye, K Balakrishnan, A Díaz-Artiga, JP McCracken, G Rosa, LM Thompson, V Aravindalochanan, DB Barr, A Castañaza, Y Chen, M Chiang, ML Clark, VG Dávila-Román, L de Las Fuentes, SS Garg, SM Hartinger, S Harvey, S Hossen, S Jabbarzadeh, MA Johnson, DY Kim, MA Kirby, AE Lovvorn, ED McCollum, LH Moulton, A Mukeshimana, K Mukhopadhyay, LP Naeher, F Ndagijimana, L Nicolaou, J de Dieu Ntivuguruzwa, R Piedrahita, A Pillarisetti, N Puttaswamy, U Ramakrishnan, S Sambandam, S Simkovich, SS Sinharoy, G Thangavel, LA Waller, J Wang, KN Williams, W Checkley, TF Clasen, JP Rosenthal	08/19/2025
Household air pollution and blood pressure among adult women participants of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial: An exposure-response analysis. Environmental research	A Pillarisetti, W Ye, JL Peel, H Chang, LJ Underhill, K Balakrishnan, A Díaz-Artiga, JP McCracken, G Rosa, LM Thompson, V Aravindalochanan, D Boyd Barr, Y Chen, M Chiang, ML Clark, V Davila-Roman, S Jabbarzadeh, MA Johnson, MA Kirby, AE Lovvorn, LP Naeher, F Ndagijimana, R Piedrahita, N Puttaswamy, LA Waller, J Wang, KN Williams, L Nicolaou, W Checkley, TF Clasen, JP Rosenthal, K Steenland	08/12/2025
The influence of ambient air pollution during folliculogenesis, endometrial development, and spermatogenesis on fertility: A study among patients using vitrified donor oocyte in vitro fertilization. Environmental research	S LaPointe, JC Lee, ZP Nagy, DB Shapiro, HH Chang, Y Wang, AG Russell, HS Hipp, AJ Gaskins	08/11/2025
Familial Differences in Personal PM_2.5 Exposure within a Rural African Community Explained with Spatiotemporal Exposure Apportionment. Environmental science & technology	K Tanner, HH Chang, ML Clark, V Cleveland, E Kalisa, KP Keller, C L'Orange, T Ntakirutimana, C Quinn, R Witinok-Huber, BN Young, J Volckens	08/05/2025
Modeling Time-varying Dispersion to Improve Estimation of the Short-term Health Effect of Environmental Exposure in a Time-series Design. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)	D Zhang, ST Ebelt, NC Scovronick, HH Chang	07/01/2025
Long-Term Wildfire Smoke Exposure and Increased Risk of Heart Failure in Older Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology	H Hao, K Xu, D Zhang, Y Deng, S Al-Kindi, VK Pattisapu, K Steenland, HH Chang, A Alonso, Y Liu	07/01/2025
A Bayesian spatial-temporal varying coefficients model for estimating excess deaths associated with respiratory infections. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A, (Statistics in Society)	Y Zhang, HH Chang, AD Iuliano, C Reed	07/01/2025
Unraveling the Molecular Links between Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Early Birth Risks in African American Mothers: A Metabolomics Study in the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort. Environmental science & technology	Z Li, AL Dunlop, JA Sarnat, A Hüls, SM Eick, A Gaskins, H Chang, A Russell, Y Tan, H Cheng, DB Barr, AK Smith, C Marsit, DP Jones, D Liang	06/10/2025
Preterm and early-term delivery after heat waves in eight US states: A case-crossover study using the High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID). Environmental health perspectives	A Fitch, M Huang, M Strickland, A Newman, C Kalb, JL Warren, X Zheng, H Chang, L Darrow	05/20/2025
Long-term exposure to smoke PM_2.5 and COPD caused mortality for elderly people in the contiguous United States. Environment international	K Xu, H Hao, D Zhang, W Wang, H Li, Y Deng, T Ma, K Steenland, H Chang, Y Liu	05/01/2025
Sensitive periods for exposure to indoor air pollutants and psychosocial factors in association with symptoms of psychopathology at school-age in a South African birth cohort. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)	GM Christensen, M Marcus, A Vanker, SM Eick, S Malcolm-Smith, ADAC Smith, EC Dunn, SF Suglia, HH Chang, HJ Zar, DJ Stein, A Hüls	05/01/2025
Assessment of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution: An exposure framework. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology	AP Patton, H Boogaard, D Vienneau, JR Brook, A Smargiassi, M Kutlar Joss, AA Szpiro, SK Sagiv, E Samoli, B Hoffmann, HH Chang, RW Atkinson, J Weuve, F Forastiere, FW Lurmann, G Hoek	05/01/2025
Estimating the Association Between Outdoor Temperature and Acute Kidney Injury Using Alternative Case Definitions. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine	B Rabin, R D'Souza, EJ Weil, HH Chang, S Ebelt, N Scovronick	05/01/2025
Ambient temperature in relation to ovarian reserve and early outcomes following ovarian stimulation and in vitro fertilization. Environmental research	S LaPointe, M McAloon, JC Lee, S Thornburgh, ZP Nagy, DB Shapiro, HH Chang, HS Hipp, AJ Gaskins	04/15/2025
Estimating Heterogeneous Exposure Effects in the Case-Crossover Design using BART. Journal of the American Statistical Association	JR Englert, ST Ebelt, HH Chang	04/04/2025
State-Level Influenza Hospitalization Burden in the United States, 2022-2023. American journal of public health	A Couture, AD Iuliano, HH Chang, R Threlkel, M Gilmer, A O'Halloran, D Ujamaa, M Biggerstaff, C Reed	04/01/2025
Associations Between Temperature and Location of Injury or Condition Among Heat-Related Emergency Department Visits. GeoHealth	C Li, H Hao, M Lane, N Scovronick, R Zhang, S Ebelt, HH Chang	04/01/2025
A Time-Series Approach for Estimating Emergency Department Visits Attributable to Seasonal Influenza: Results from Six U.S. Cities, 2005-06 to 2016-17 Seasons. American journal of epidemiology	XF Huang, AD Iuliano, S Ebelt, C Reed, HH Chang	03/05/2025
Influenza Activity and Preterm Birth in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area: A Time-Series Analysis from 2010 to 2017. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)	X Zheng, T Wang, H Hao, RR D'Souza, MJ Strickland, JL Warren, LA Darrow, HH Chang	03/01/2025
Dust Storms and Emergency Department Visits in 3 Southwestern States Using NWS Storm Reports. JAMA network open	X Zheng, HH Chang, ST Ebelt, R D'Souza, K Hohsfield, JL Crooks	02/03/2025
A time-to-event analysis of the association between ambient air pollution and risk of spontaneous abortion using vital records in the U.S. state of Georgia (2005-2014). American journal of epidemiology	TW Hsiao, AJ Gaskins, JL Warren, LA Darrow, MJ Strickland, AG Russell, HH Chang	01/28/2025
Exposure Contrasts of Women Aged 40-79 Years during the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Randomized Controlled Trial. Environmental science & technology	W Ye, D Campbell, M Johnson, K Balakrishnan, JL Peel, K Steenland, LJ Underhill, G Rosa, MA Kirby, A Díaz-Artiga, J McCracken, LM Thompson, ML Clark, LA Waller, HH Chang, J Wang, E Dusabimana, F Ndagijimana, S Sambandam, K Mukhopadhyay, M Chiang, SM Hartinger, L Nicolaou, K Williams, R Piedrahita, KA Kearns, J Kremer, A Ghosh, JP Rosenthal, W Checkley, T Clasen, L Naeher, A Pillarisetti	01/14/2025
Case-crossover assessment of the modifying effects of home medication use on acute kidney-related morbidity due to elevated ambient heat exposure in Atlanta, GA, from 2013 to 2019. BMJ public health	Z McCann, H Zhang, K Mueller, Y Qian, M Lane, R Dsouza, EJ Weil, S Ebelt, N Scovronick, HH Chang	01/01/2025
The direct and urinary electrolyte-mediated effects of ambient temperature on population blood pressure: A causal mediation analysis. Environment international	A Mukhopadhyay, M Haque Mondol, M Rahman, L Unicomb, R Khan, H Mazumder, M Nahian Ferdous, EV Pickering, KC Makris, AJ Caban-Martinez, F Ahmed, M Shamsudduha, F Mzayek, C Jia, H Zhang, A Musah, LE Fleming, MP Smeltzer, HH Chang, JL Jefferies, CP Kovesdy, X Mou, A Mohd Naser	01/01/2025
Air Pollution and Cognitive Impairment Among the Chinese Elderly Population: An Analysis of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). GeoHealth	Q Zhu, Y Lyu, K Huang, J Zhou, W Wang, K Steenland, HH Chang, S Ebelt, X Shi, Y Liu	01/01/2025
Study protocol for the Bio-HEAT study: Investigating the Biological pathways from HEAT exposure to preterm birth and other adverse maternal and child health outcomes in South Africa. Wellcome open research	I Solarin, DP Lakhoo, K Mc Alpine, MM Brennan, A Chikandiwa, NB Brink, L Radebe, M Landsberg, C Gray, GJ Hofmeyr, H Chang, R Hetem, S Makhanya, PT Mpangase, S Norris, M Urban, V Vannevel, A Wise, MF Chersich, KG Technau, R Strehlau	01/01/2025
Spatial associations between measures of public transportation and diabetic foot ulcer outcomes in the state of Georgia: 2016-2019. BMJ open diabetes research & care	LT Vanasse, HH Chang, R D'Souza, MK Ali, L Waller, MC Schechter	12/24/2024
The High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID) daily for the Conterminous United States. Scientific data	AJ Newman, C Kalb, TC Chakraborty, A Fitch, LA Darrow, JL Warren, MJ Strickland, HA Holmes, AJ Monaghan, HH Chang	12/04/2024
Greenspace Morphology and Preterm Birth: A State-Wide Study in Georgia, United States (2001-2016). Environmental health perspectives	H Wang, X Huang, H Hao, HH Chang	12/01/2024
Increasing Access, Equitability, and Rigor in the Assessment of Neighborhood Mortgage Discrimination. Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine	L Moubadder, M Bliss, ML Maliniak, H Waddel, JM Switchenko, HH Chang, MR Kramer, LE McCullough	12/01/2024
Associations between exposure to extreme ambient heat and neural tube defects in Georgia, USA: A population-based case-control study. Environmental research	S LaPointe, LE Beagle, X Zheng, V Kancherla, A Mutic, HH Chang, AJ Gaskins	11/15/2024
Air pollution exposure in vitrified oocyte donors and male recipient partners in relation to fertilization and embryo quality. Environment international	S LaPointe, JC Lee, ZP Nagy, DB Shapiro, HH Chang, Y Wang, AG Russell, HS Hipp, AJ Gaskins	11/01/2024
Investigating interaction effects of social risk factors and exposure to air pollution on pediatric lymphoma cancer in Georgia, United States. Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology	T Unseld, K Ickstadt, K Ward, JM Switchenko, HH Chang, A Hüls	11/01/2024
Spatiotemporal lineage tracing reveals the dynamic spatial architecture of tumor growth and metastasis. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	MG Jones, D Sun, KHJ Min, WN Colgan, L Tian, JA Weir, VZ Chen, LW Koblan, KE Yost, N Mathey-Andrews, AJC Russell, RR Stickels, KS Balderrama, WM Rideout, HY Chang, T Jacks, F Chen, JS Weissman, N Yosef, D Yang	10/24/2024
Wildland Fire-Related Smoke PM _2.5 and Cardiovascular Disease ED Visits in the Western United States. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences	L Li, W Wang, HH Chang, A Alonso, Y Liu	10/15/2024
Spatiotemporally Detailed Quantification of Air Quality Benefits of Emissions Reductions-Part I: Benefit-per-Ton Estimates for Canada and the U.S. ACS ES&T air	S Zhao, P Vasilakos, A Alhusban, YB Oztaner, A Krupnick, H Chang, A Russell, A Hakami	10/11/2024
Spatiotemporally Detailed Quantification of Air Quality Benefits of Emissions-Part II: Sensitivity to Study Parameters and Assumptions. ACS ES&T air	A Hakami, S Zhao, P Vasilakos, A Alhusban, YB Oztaner, A Krupnick, H Chang, A Russell	10/11/2024
Dust storms and cardiorespiratory emergency department visits in three Southwestern United States: application of a monitoring-based exposure metric. Environmental research, health : ERH	C Rowan, R R D'Souza, X Zheng, J Crooks, K Hohsfield, D Tong, HH Chang, S Ebelt	09/01/2024
Prenatal and Early Life Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants Is Associated with the Fecal Metabolome in the First Two Years of Life. Environmental science & technology	EA Holzhausen, BN Chalifour, Y Tan, N Young, F Lurmann, DP Jones, JA Sarnat, HH Chang, MI Goran, D Liang, TL Alderete	08/13/2024
Association of household air pollution exposure and anemia among pregnant women: Analysis of baseline data from 'Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN)' trial. Environment international	Y Deng, K Steenland, SS Sinharoy, JL Peel, W Ye, A Pillarisetti, SM Eick, HH Chang, J Wang, Y Chen, BN Young, ML Clark, DB Barr, TF Clasen On Behalf Of The Hapin Investigators	08/01/2024
Wildfires are associated with increased emergency department visits for anxiety disorders in the western United States. Nature. Mental health	Q Zhu, D Zhang, W Wang, RR D'Souza, H Zhang, B Yang, K Steenland, N Scovronick, S Ebelt, HH Chang, Y Liu	04/01/2024

Awards

Dr. Chang has received the following honors and awards:

Biostatistics Department Faculty Mentoring Award, Emory University, 2020