Faculty

Background and Expertise:

Philippe Amstislavski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics. His research focuses on developing spatial analysis approaches that fully include the role of behavioral, socio-economic and environmental variables in the study of health outcomes.

Professor Amstislavski's interests center on innovative applications of geo-statistical modeling and analysis in environmental and occupational health research. He holds Master's degree in Environmental Management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and professional Master's of Architecture degree and Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree. Prior to developing his interest in health informatics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Prof. Amstislavski practiced nursing and worked with international medical relief organizations as Registered Nurse and field director. This unique background prompted him to start using GIS to better understand the underlying environmental causes of diseases and to improve health outcomes. He has extensive expertise in the field of medical geography, GIS and spatial modeling. Prior to joining the SUNY faculty Prof. Amstislavski worked as urban designer and research associate at the studio of architect Daniel Libeskind, Environmental Simulation Center and headed a medical informatics team at the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His informatics team designed a unique clinical data management system to monitor health of responders to World Trade Center attacks in New York City. Prof. Amstislavski conducts his doctoral dissertation work on health disparities at the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department of the City University of New York. Prof. Amstislavski is a certified GIS professional, and a member of the American Association of Geographers.

Research Interests

Behavioral, Socio-economic and Environmental Context of Health Outcomes

Prof. Amstislavski's research interests include detection and assessment of health disparities at multiple spatial scales, from watershed to individual household and work level. Specifically, Prof. Amstislavski employs variety of GIS software and database management tools to:

• Detect the role of socio-economic, behavioral and environmental influences on health outcomes using surface interpolation methods and statistical surfaces generation.
• Establish appropriate units of spatial statistical analysis to detect urban and rural health disparities.
• Conduct supply-demand analysis to identify gaps in health services.
• Map spatial distribution of diseases using Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Personal Health Record (PHR), socio-economic and environmental data.
• Develop new translational approaches to communicate spatial and health data to health care consumers and providers.
• Measure levels of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) during commute.

Selected Recent Publications

Morabia, AM, Amstislavski, PN, Mirer, FE, Amstislavski, TM. Eisl, H, Wolff, MS, Markowitz, SB. "Simultaneous assessment of air pollution and physical activity during transportation by car, subway or foot." Amer J. Prev Med (in press).