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Asal Mohamadi Johnson

Professor of Public Health

Asal Johnson, PhD, is a Professor and an interdisciplinary public health scholar, epidemiologist, educator, and academic leader. Drawing on expertise in epidemiology and urban planning, her work examines how place, the built environment, and social and structural conditions shape population health and health disparities. Since joining Stetson, Johnson has helped shape and advance the University's Public Health program through academic leadership, curriculum innovation, faculty mentorship, community and health care partnerships, and the development of high-impact experiential learning opportunities. Central to her work is a commitment to connecting rigorous scholarship and public health education with practice while engaging students and communities in addressing consequential public health challenges locally and globally.

  • PhD, urban and regional planning, Florida State University
  • MPH, epidemiology, Georgia Southern University
  • MA, urban and regional planning, University of Tehran
  • BS, economics, Azad University

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Asal Mohamadi Johnson

Biography

Professor Johnson's research focuses on the relationship between place and health, with particular emphasis on cancer epidemiology and health disparities. Her scholarship examines how racial segregation, neighborhood poverty, redlining, and other social and geographic factors influence cancer incidence, treatment, and survival. Her research has appeared in leading journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Cancer Epidemiology, and the Journal of Urban Health, and has received substantial national and international scholarly attention.

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As a teacher-scholar, Johnson integrates research, experiential learning, and community engagement throughout her teaching. She has mentored students in undergraduate research, senior theses, internships, and community-based projects, with students presenting their work at regional and national conferences, including the American Public Health Association. She has developed experiential partnerships with health care organizations, including AdventHealth and Halifax Hospital, and leads global health learning experiences in Geneva, Switzerland, where students engage with international health organizations and public health professionals. 

A defining feature of Johnson's work is her long-standing collaboration with DeLand's historically Black communities. Working alongside students and community partners, she has led initiatives addressing community health, neighborhood history, the built environment, and civic engagement. These collaborations have contributed to community health assessments, historic preservation efforts, public art celebrating DeLand's Black history, neighborhood safety initiatives, and nationally recognized student research.

More About Asal Mohamadi Johnson

Areas of Expertise

  • Cancer Epidemiology and Health Disparities
  • Social and Spatial Epidemiology
  • Healthy Cities and Urban Planning
  • Neighborhoods, Built Environment, and Health
  • Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning
  • Global Health

Course Sampling

  • Epidemiology
  • Global Health
  • Global Health Governance in Switzerland
  • Planning for Healthy Cities
  • Statistics for Environmental and Public Health Professionals
  • Introduction to Public Health
  • Health and Human Rights (FSEM)
  • Public Health and the Built Environment
  • Research Proposal
  • Research Project
  • Internship

  • Cancer Epidemiology
  • Health Disparities
  • Social and Spatial Epidemiology
  • Spatial Analysis
  • Neighborhood and Built Environment
  • Racial and Residential Segregation
  • Redlining and Health Outcomes
  • Urban Planning and Population Health

  • Johnson, AM, Johnson, Hines, RB, Zhu, X. (2025) Racial differences in carcinoma-in-situ and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer mortality: Accounting for insurance status, black segregation, and neighborhood poverty. Cancer Epidemiology 94: 102728
  • Hines RB, Zhu X, Lee E, Eames B, Chmielewska K, Johnson AM. (2023). Health insurance and neighborhood poverty as mediators of racial disparities in advanced disease stage at diagnosis and nonreceipt of surgery for women with breast cancer. Cancer Medicine 12(14):15414-15423
  • Hines, R B., Zhu, X, Lee, E, Rapp, CD, Volk, A, Johnson, AM. (2022) Multiple mediation analysis of racial disparity in breast cancer survival. Cancer Epidemiology 79: 102206.
  • Droznin, M, Maglio, K, Johnson, AM, Cuevas, C, Dixon, S, Putting Theory in Practice: leveraging community-based research to achieve community-based outcomes in Deland, Florida In Stoecker, R. and Falcón, A. eds., 2022. Handbook on Participatory Action Research and Community Development. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Hines, R. B., Johnson, A. M., Lee, E., Erickson, S., & Rahman, S. M. (2021). Trends in Breast Cancer Survival by Race and Ethnicity in Florida, 1990–2015. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers, 30(7), 1408-1415.
  • Johnson, AM., Johnson, A., Hines, R., & Mohammadi, R. (2020). Neighborhood Context and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Outcomes in Florida Non-Elderly Patients by Race/Ethnicity. Lung Cancer, 142: 20-27.
  • Droznin, M., Johnson, A., & Johnson, A. M. (2017). Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in prisons located in former Soviet countries: A systematic review. PloS ONE, 12(3), e0174373.
  • Johnson, A. M., Woodside, J., Johnson A., & Pollack, J. (2017). Neighborhood Characteristics of Suicide Clusters in Florida from 2000 to 2010. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
  • Hines, R. B., Bimali, M., Johnson, A. M., Bayakly, A. R., & Collins, T. C. (2016). Prevalence and survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients: Comparison of overall and age-stratified results by multivariable modeling and propensity score methodology in a population-based cohort. Cancer Epidemiology, 44, 77- 83.
  • Johnson, A. M., Johnson, A., Hines, R.B., & Bayakly, A. R. (2016). The Effects of Racial Segregation and Neighborhood Poverty on Treatment and Survival Outcomes in Patients with Early-stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer*. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, 25(5), 750-758. 

*This study was featured as an American Association for Cancer Research press release and reported on by more than 40 news outlet and agencies including: CNBC, Reuters, and Yahoo

  • Jordan†, K.M., Johnson, A.M., Johnson, J.A. & Holman, J. (2016): Portuguese American gay men in southeastern Massachusetts: cultural scripts and risk for HIV. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(10): 1180-1191
  • Johnson III, J. A. & Johnson, A. M. (2015). Urban-Rural Differences in Childhood and Adolescent Obesity in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Childhood Obesity, 11(3): 36–42.