RCMI@Morgan Highlights Academic Excellence: Dr. Rifath Aram Alam Barsha

Dr. Rifath Ara Alam Barsha currently holds the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Subsequently, she pursued her Master of Public Health (MPH) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degrees at Morgan State University, USA.

Dr. Barsha has been an invaluable member of the RCMI@Morgan research community, demonstrating exceptional dedication to her research endeavors.  Her dissertation, titled “Unequal Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Tobacco Outcomes: Minorities’ Diminished Return in Baltimore” is a testament to her commitment to rigorous investigation and innovative contributions to her field. Leveraging community survey data collected by Morgan State University's Communities Engaged and Advocating for a Smoke-Free Environment (CEASE) initiatives, she highlighted disparities in socioeconomic status (SES) among Black and White individuals across various tobacco-related outcomes, including current smoking status, menthol tobacco product use, secondhand smoke exposure, and exposure to tobacco advertisements. Her findings revealed the diminished protective effect of SES for Black individuals across these outcomes, highlighting the imperative to address structural discrimination. Dr. Payam Sheikhattari served as her dissertation chair, with Dr. Shervin Assari and Dr. Mian Hossain serving as committee members for her dissertation. Notably, two articles derived from her dissertation have already been published, with one awaiting publication. In recognition of her scholarly achievements, Dr. Barsha was honored with the Outstanding Scholar Award for her DrPH.

Dr. Barsha’s current research interests are chronic diseases and related risk factors, health disparities, and community engagement in research. Her overarching goal is to offer substantial insights into the mechanisms underlying urban health disparities linked to chronic diseases and their risk factors, including tobacco-related outcomes. She aims to devise innovative approaches or strategies to address these issues on both national and global scales.