Lydia A. Isaac, PhD, MS

Lydia Isaac is vice president for health equity and policy at the National Urban League and also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She most recently served as associate research professor and executive director of the Health Policy Research Scholars program at George Washington University. Dr. Isaac was responsible for day-to-day operations and curriculum development for the program, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Previously, she was director of policy and health systems analysis in the Office of Policy, Planning and Strategic Data in the First Deputy Commissioner’s office at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Throughout her career, Dr. Isaac has worked in local and state government as well as in academia, where she has taught classes on community health assessment and social disparities in health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University, a master’s degree in health and social behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a doctorate in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. Isaac’s research interests include advancing health equity through translating research into policy and practice; investigating the mechanisms that lead to racial and ethnic health disparities; the social determinants of health; and the neighborhood environment and its role in health promotion.