Akshaya Bhagavathula

Professor

Faculty

Public Health

Akshaya Bhagavathula

Dr. Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula, FACE, is a Full Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health at North Dakota State University. With over a decade of expertise in clinical epidemiology and population-based research across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Europe, his work stands at the global vanguard of policy-grade digital epidemiology and infodemiology.

Dr. Bhagavathula’s research is dedicated to advancing AI- and machine-learning–enabled epidemiologic methods for causal inference, real-world evidence (RWE) generation, and geospatial population health analysis. He currently leads a pioneering Agentic-AI initiative focused on developing autonomous, AI-driven causal inference frameworks to address complex public health challenges. His multidisciplinary approach synthesizes pharmacoepidemiology, health disparities research, and causal AI to evaluate the impact of clinical policies using large-scale, high-dimensional digital and population-level datasets.

A prominent voice in the academic community, Dr. Bhagavathula serves as an Associate Editor at Annals of Epidemiology and is an IHME Global Burden of Disease Lead Collaborator. His research leverages sophisticated technical pipelines - utilizing the Google Health Trends API and Google Earth Engine to monitor real-time health behaviors. With a prolific record of over 350 peer-reviewed publications, he is committed to translating high-fidelity data science into actionable evidence that mitigates systemic health inequities and refines evidence-based decision-making.

Areas of Study & Research

  • AI- & Machine-Learning–Enabled Epidemiologic Methods: Advancing Causal AI, deep learning, and predictive analytics to generate high-fidelity real-world evidence (RWE) for public health decision-making.
  • Policy-Grade Digital Epidemiology & Infodemiology: Utilizing real-time digital surveillance, social media analytics, and NLP pipelines to monitor health behaviors, outcomes, and the spread of health misinformation.
  • Geospatial Population Health & Health Equity: Leveraging spatiotemporal analysis and GIS-based exposure modeling to investigate health disparities and population vulnerabilities within the built environment.
  • Legal Epidemiology & Policy Evaluation: Applying rigorous causal inference frameworks, including quasi-experimental designs and synthetic controls, to evaluate the impact of public health laws and clinical policies.
  • Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety: Integrating large-scale clinical registries and administrative data (e.g., FAERS, All of Us) for post-marketing safety evaluation and real-world evidence generation.
  • Chronic Disease & Digital Health Evaluation: Assessing the implementation and population-level efficacy of telemedicine and digital health interventions through pragmatic trials and target trial emulation.

Courses Taught

  • PH 301 Research Methods in Health Services (3 Credits)
  • PH 474, Epidemiology (3 Credits)
  • PH 750, Epidemiology I (2 Credits)
  • PH 752, Epidemiology II (2 Credits)
  • PH 789 Integrative Learning Experience (1 Credit)

Previous Work

  • Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, North Dakota State University, USA (2023- 03/2026)
  • Associate Editor, New Emirates Medical Journal, Emirates Medical Association, Dubai, UAE (2019-2021)
  • Research Associate, Emirates Cardiac Society, Dubai, UAE (2015-2022)
  • Assistant Professor, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Ethiopia (2013-2018)

Awards & Honors

  • Global Burden Disease - Lead Collaborator (2025)
  • Best Mentor Award, North Dakota State University (2025)
  • NDSU Innovation in Teaching Award (2024)
  • Stanford-Elsevier Top 2% Scientist, Clinical Medicine & Public Health (2019–2024)
  • American College of Epidemiology, Board Member (2024–2025)
  • Legal Epidemiology Fellow, Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research (2024)
  • Editorial Board Member, Annals of Epidemiology and JMIR Public Health & Surveillance (2023–present)
  • Recognized contributor and invited expert, World Health Organization, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, and BBC

Professional Associations

  • Faculty Research Fellow (Rural and Community Health and Biosciences), North Dakota State University (2025-2026)
  • Board of Directors, American College of Epidemiology
  • Legal Epidemiology Fellow - Center for Public Health Law Research | Temple University
  • Beasley School of Law, PA 19122 - Associate Editor, Annals of Epidemiology

University Affiliations

Faculty Research Fellow (Rural and Community Health and Biosciences), North Dak… Board of Directors, American College of Epidemiology: 2024 - 2025 Legal Epidemiology Fellow - Center for Public Health Law Research | Temple Univ… Associate Editor, Annals of Epidemiology

Education

  • 2025, Fellowship of the American College of Epidemiology, New York
  • 2022-2023, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Public Health & Technology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
  • 2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • 2012, Doctor of Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India
  • 2009, Bachelor of Pharmacy, The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, India

Publications

Selected Publications (of 356)
h-index = 78, i-10 index = 218
Complete list: Google Scholar | PubMed | Web of Science

  1. Bhagavathula AS, Aldhaleei WA, Abegaz TM. Trends and projections of overweight and obesity among midlife women in the United States, 1990-2050: A sub‑study of the Global Burden of Disease 2021. Womens Health (Lond). 2026 Jan-Dec;22:17455057261430197. doi: 10.1177/17455057261430197.
  2. Ellenberg E, Weber M, Weiss A, Katorza E, Bhagavathula A. Individual causal attribution in occupational disease claims: a structured epidemiological approach. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2026 Feb 27;15(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s13584-026-00752-5.
  3. Abegaz TM, Ahmed M, Bhagavathula AS, Frietze G. Association between GLP-1 receptor agonist use and substance use disorders among individuals with type 2 diabetes or obesity: a nested case-control study in the All of Us research program. Front Psychiatry. 2026 Mar 10;17:1766770. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1766770.
  4. Bhagavathula AS. Artificial intelligence and natural language processing of patient narratives to evaluate semaglutide for weight loss. Ann Epidemiol. 2025 Sep 14;111:9-13. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2025.09.003.
  5. Bhagavathula AS, Krishnan D, Chu MB. Association Between Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and LDL Cholesterol in US Adults: Evidence From NHANES. Lipids. 2025 Sep 6. doi: 10.1002/lipd.70008.
  6. Bhagavathula AS. Spatiotemporal Clustering of Premature Heart Failure Mortality Across U.S. Counties, 2000-2023. JACC Heart Fail. 2025 Jul 10;13(9):102559. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2025.102559.
  7. Bhagavathula AS, Al Qady AM, Aldhaleei WA. Diagnostic accuracy and quality of artificial intelligence models in irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review. World J Gastroenterol. 2025 Jun 21;31(23):106836. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i23.106836.
  8. GBD 2021 Global Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Risk Factors Collaborators; Rautalin I, Volovici V, Stark BA, Johnson CO, Kaprio J, Korja M, Krishnamurthi RV, Nair BS, Bhagavathula AS, Roth GA, Feigin VL. Global, Regional, and National Burden of Nontraumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. JAMA Neurol. 2025 May 23. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.1522.
  9. Anza-Ramirez C, Miranda J, Armocida B, Correia JC, Spall HGC, Beran D, Aali A, Abate KH, Abate SM, Abbafati C, Abbasi-Kangevari M, Bhagavathula AS. GBD 2019 Acute and Chronic Care Collaborators. Characterising acute and chronic care needs: insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Nat Commun. 2025 May 7;16(1):4235. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56910-x.
  10. Bhagavathula AS, Akomaning E, Osei SP, Griechen MA. Racial and Social Vulnerability Hotspots in Premature Heart Failure Mortality Across US Counties. Circ Heart Fail. 2025 Jun;18(6):e012889. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.125.012889. PMID: 40171651.
  11. Bhagavathula AS, Abegaz TM, Khubchandani J, Choi BJ. Knowledge, access, and possession of naloxone (Narcan) among U.S. adults: A nationwide survey 2023. Am J Addict. 2025 Mar 25. doi: 10.1111/ajad.70031.
  12. Ng M, Gakidou E, Lo J, Abate YH, Abbafati C, Abbas N, Abbasian M, Abd ElHafeez S, Abdel-Rahman WM, Abd-Elsalam S, Abdollahi A, Bhagavathula AS. GBD 2021 Adult BMI Collaborators. Global, regional, and national prevalence of adult overweight and obesity, 1990-2021, with forecasts to 2050: a forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2025 Mar 8;405(10481):813-838. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00355-1.
  13. Feigin VL, Vos T, Nair BS, Hay SI, Abate YH, Abd Al Magied AH, Abd ElHafeez S, Abdelkader A, Abdollahifar MA, Abdullahi A, Aboagye RG, Bhagavathula AS. GBD Epilepsy Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of epilepsy, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Mar;10(3):e203-e227. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00302-5.
  14. Abegaz TM, Ahmed M, Ali AA, Bhagavathula AS. Predicting Health-Related Quality of Life Using Social Determinants of Health: A Machine Learning Approach with the All of Us Cohort. Bioengineering (Basel). 2025 Feb 9;12(2):166. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering12020166.
  15. Weaver ND, Bertolacci GJ, Rosenblad E, Ghoba S, Cunningham M, Ikuta KS, Moberg ME, Mougin V, Han C, Wool EE, Abate YH, Bhagavathula AS. GBD 2021 Suicide Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of suicide, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Mar;10(3):e189-e202. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00006-4.
  16. Aldhaleei WA, Wallace MB, Bi Yan, Husk A, Bhagavathula AS. Racial, Ethnic and Geographic Disparities in Digestive Diseases Mortality in the United States, 2000-2019. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Jan;23(1):59-68.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2024.07.035.
  17. Bhagavathula AS, Daglis T, Nishimura Y. Trends in racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in substance use disorders mortality in the United States, 2000-2019. Am J Addict. 2025 Jan;34(1):93-100. doi: 10.1111/ajad.13654.
  18. Steel N, Bauer-Staeb CM, Ford JA, Abbafati C, Abdalla MA, Abdelkader A, Abdi P, Zuñiga RA, Abiodun OO, Abolhassani H, Abu-Gharbieh E, Bhagavathula AS. GBD 2021 Europe Life Expectancy Collaborators. Changing life expectancy in European countries 1990-2021: a subanalysis of causes and risk factors from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Feb 18:S2468-2667(25)00009-X. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00009-X.
  19. Akomaning E, Osei SP, Bhagavathula AS. Alcohol-related injuries from e-scooter and e-bike use in the US (2019-2022): a retrospective study. Inj Prev. 2025 Jan 12:ip-2024-045461. doi: 10.1136/ip-2024-045461.
  20. Arndt MB, Abate YH, Abbasi-Kangevari M, Abd ElHafeez S, Abdelmasseh M, Abd-Elsalam S, Abdulah DM, Abdulkader RS, Abidi H, Abiodun O, Aboagye RG, Bhagavathula AS. Global Nutrition Target Collaborators. Global, regional, and national progress towards the 2030 global nutrition targets and forecasts to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2025 Dec 21;404(10471):2543-2583. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01821-X.