Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH

Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Equity and Society. He received his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health where he also received his MPH and earned his BS at the University of California, Irvine. He recently completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, where his work centered on substance use, treatment, overdose, and harm reduction among people experiencing homelessness. Throughout his postdoctoral fellowship, Ryan presented data from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness at academic conferences, in scientific publications, and through op-eds-- one of which was published in the LA Times.

Ryan’s work applies community-engaged practices, social determinants of health frameworks, and epidemiological methods to examine the intersections of infectious diseases, substance use and drug-related overdose, and sexual health among people experiencing homelessness and sexual and gender diverse populations.

Prior to joining BHHI, Ryan was an epidemiologist at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. With nearly a decade of community- and academic-focused service, he continually worked for organizations that promote advocacy and provide services and protections for marginalized populations, including sexual and gender diverse groups, individuals who use substances, and people experiencing homelessness.