Virginia W Chang

Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Virginia W. Chang, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Global Public Health at NYU School of Global Public Health, Associate Professor of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine, and Affiliated Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at NYU. Dr. Chang is a graduate of the Inteflex Program at the University of Michigan, where she received her BS and MD degrees.  She then completed a residency in internal medicine, fellowship training with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, and a PhD in sociology, all at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Chang was in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a staff physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center.

As a physician and sociologist, Dr. Chang integrates perspectives from medicine, epidemiology, sociology, and demography in her research. Much of her work has focused on obesity and health disparities, engaging topics such as the influence of socially structured context (e.g., racial segregation, income inequality, neighborhood social/physical disorder) on obesity; the relationship of obesity to mortality and disability; the influence of weight status on the quality of medical care; socioeconomic disparities in health and mortality; and the inter-relationships between health, medical technologies, and stratification.

Her research program has been funded by the NICHD, NHLBI, and NIA of the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Health Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Measy Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, and the Russell Sage Foundation.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Society of General Internal Medicine Award for Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year and the Marjorie A. Bowman Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for achievement in the health evaluation sciences. Dr. Chang is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Chang’s publications span a variety of disciplines, including journals such as JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of Health & Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Demography, and Social Forces.  She was recently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health & Social Behavior.

Education

BS, Biomedical Sciences and Philosophy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

MD, Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

MA, Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

PhD, Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

-

Fellow, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Resident, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Intern, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

-

Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine

Licensed Medical Physician, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Honors and awards

Majorie A. Bowman Research Award, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2010)

Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year, Society of General Internal Medicine (2008)

Robert Austrian Faculty Award for Health Evaluation Reserach, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008)

Physician Faculty Scholars Award, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2007)

Finalist, Hamolsky Junior Facutly Award, Society of General Internal Medicine (2004)

Finalist, Richard Saller Prize for Best Dissertation in the Division of the Social Sciences, University of Chicago (2003)

Graduate University Fellowship, University of Chicago (2001)

Eli G. Rochelson Memorial Award for Excellence in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School (1994)

Biomedical Research Program Scholarship, University of Michigan Medical School (1991)

James B. Angell Scholar, University of Michigan (1988)

William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize, University of Michigan (1986)

Areas of research and study

Global Health

Health Disparities

Internal Medicine

Obesity

Population Health

Social Behaviors

Publications

Publications

Time Path of Weight Status Before and After Incident Dementia

Association between racial residential segregation and walkability in 745 U.S. cities

COVID-19 stigmatization after the development of effective vaccines: Vaccination behavior, attitudes, and news sources

Cumulative exposure to extreme heat and trajectories of cognitive decline among older adults in the USA

Health Insurance and Mental Health Treatment Use Among Adults With Criminal Legal Involvement After Medicaid Expansion

Internet usage and the prospective risk of dementia: A population-based cohort study

Anti-Vaccine Attitudes among Adults in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic after Vaccine Rollout

Obesity and Patient Activation: Confidence, Communication, and Information Seeking Behavior

Patient-Provider Communication Quality, 2002-2016: A Population-based Study of Trends and Racial Differences

Trends in Prescription Opioid and Nonopioid Analgesic Use by Race, 1996–2017

Ultra-processed food consumption among US adults from 2001 to 2018

Behavioral correlates of COVID-19 worry: Stigma, knowledge, and news source

Obesity and the Receipt of Prescription Pain Medications in the US

Sociodemographic and Behavioral Factors Associated With COVID-19 Stigmatizing Attitudes in the U.S.

24-Year trends in educational inequalities in adult smoking prevalence in the context of a national tobacco control program: The case of Brazil

The Economic Value of Education for Longer Lives and Reduced Disability

Health, Polysubstance Use, and Criminal Justice Involvement Among Adults With Varying Levels of Opioid Use

Medicaid Expansion, Mental Health, and Access to Care among Childless Adults with and without Chronic Conditions

Overweight or obese BMI is associated with earlier, but not later survival after common acute illnesses

Ultra-processed food consumption and excess weight among US adults

Birth weight, early life weight gain and age at menarche: a systematic review of longitudinal studies

The obesity paradox and incident cardiovascular disease: A population-based study

Trends in the Relationship between Obesity and Disability, 1988-2012

Mortality attributable to low levels of education in the United States

Obesity and 1-year outcomes in older Americans with severe sepsis