Welcome to the Displacement and Health Research Center. We are a vibrant, mission-driven community committed to advancing health for displaced populations. We focus on studying displacement as a social determinant of health, recognizing that it is far more than a geographic shift, but a life-altering experience with profound effects on health, dignity, and well-being.
Our work is grounded not only in rigorous science but in empathy and solidarity with individuals and communities whose lives have been disrupted by forced migration. What drives us is a belief that research can transform adversity into opportunity, and resilience into meaningful change.
As global displacement reaches historic levels, fueled by conflict, climate change, and widening inequalities, understanding its impact on health has never been more urgent. Through looking at displacement as a social determinant of health, we work to generate evidence to inform clinical care, strengthen public health interventions, and guide policies that protect and uplift displaced populations.
The center is a one of a kind at UC San Diego, built by and for communities with lived experience. Our team includes refugees, first-generation scholars, immigrants and other underrepresented trainees who represent the future of health research. We uphold the ethos of “Nothing About Us Without Us” in every aspect of our work, ensuring that those most affected by displacement help shape the questions, methods and solutions.
Our trainees will go on to become physicians, public health practitioners, researchers and social justice leaders dedicated to improving the lives of displaced communities worldwide.
Meet Our Team
Tala Al-Rousan, MD, MPH
Principal Investigator and Founder
Tala Al-Rousan, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of behavioral medicine and epidemiology at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science with an affiliation in the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology & Palliative Care in UC San Diego School of Medicine, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at UC San Francisco, and Lown Scholar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is the founder of the Displacement and Health Research Center.
Globally, Dr. Al-Rousan held several leadership positions as advisor to the Jordanian Minister of Health, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Immigrant, Refugee, Migrant Health Branch, and the UN-International Organization for Migration and Doctors Without Borders. She co-leads the Center for Lifecourse and Vulnerable Populations Research at the UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute.
Her community-based research and program development primarily focuses on improving the health of displaced populations, including immigrant and refugee families, populations displaced due to natural disasters, incarceration, inequality, and those who experience violations of human rights. She is trained in medicine from Cairo University and was a former Doctor Without Borders physician who served in Jordan, Yemen and Switzerland.
Dr. Al-Rousan grew up in a border town in Jordan, a country of refugees, and cared for refugee and racially diverse patients at Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps, and is currently living in the border city of San Diego, with the majority of her implementation science projects based in migrant shelters and refugee-majority neighborhoods. She prioritizes mentoring refugees, first-generation and those who are underrepresented trainees in health sciences.
Ariana Khayamian, BS, MPH
Lab Manager and Coordinator, Staff Researcher
Ariana Khayamian is the lab manager of the Displacement and Health Research Center and a 2025 graduate of the Master of Public Health program at the University of Southern California, where she specialized in community health promotion. She is from San Diego and holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Health Psychology with a minor in Health Care Social Issues from UC San Diego.
Khayamian’s academic and professional work is rooted in advancing health equity, culturally competent care and understanding displacement as a social determinant of health. As lab manager, she leads research operations, trainee coordination, community partnerships and project development, supporting a diverse team of scholars.
She previously worked at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, where she conducted health care transformation research focused on improving care delivery and informing policy implementation. Her work at Duke further deepened her commitment to bridging evidence, practice and lived experience to create more equitable systems of care.
Khayamian is also the co-founder and president of Beyond Concussion 501(c)(3), where she advocates for and supports individuals living with brain injuries. Her additional professional experience includes working as a medical scribe, assistant optometric rehabilitation therapist and community outreach advisor serving immigrant and refugee communities in San Diego.
As a first-generation student from a Middle Eastern refugee and immigrant family, Khayamian brings a deeply personal understanding to her research and advocacy. She plans to pursue a career in medicine, where she aims to deliver equitable, culturally responsive care and continue amplifying the voices and needs of displaced and underserved populations worldwide.
Jyotsna Negi
Staff Researcher, PhD Candidate
Jyotsna Negi is a student in the UC San Diego - San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health. Her work explores how overlapping socioeconomic disadvantages influence access to care and population health among underserved communities, using quantitative, qualitative and implementation approaches. She has contributed to population health and health financing research in multiple countries, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste, and is currently involved in a randomized trial using motivational interviewing to support hypertension medication adherence among refugee communities in San Diego.
Carine Tamamian, BS
Staff Researcher, MD Candidate
Carine Tamamian is a research assistant and UC San Diego School of Medicine candidate. In 2022, she graduated from the University of California Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology and a minor in evolutionary medicine. She is currently in her research year and is trained in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
She is committed to making research more equitable by ensuring that vulnerable communities are accurately and meaningfully represented in this space. At the Displacement and Health Research Center, she works with Dr. Tala Al-Rousan on clinical trials focused on improving hypertension management among refugees. She also leads research on thyroid cancer, examining how language, health literacy and structural barriers influence cancer screening and surgical outcomes, and is closely involved in projects examining disparities in organ donation and transplantation, contributing substantially to their design, analysis and ongoing development.
Born in Damascus to an Armenian family whose history has been marked by generations of displacement, and having experienced displacement herself as a young adult, she is driven to build health care systems that honor dignity, compassion and justice for all vulnerable communities.
Sabrina Smadi, BS, MS
Clinical Research Coordinator
Sabrina Smadi is a clinical research coordinator at the Displacement and Health Research Center. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in biology. In 2024, she furthered her education by earning a Master of Science with a focus on clinical development from The Keck Graduate Institute of The Claremont Colleges. Smadi is passionate about bridging clinical research and global health to promote healthcare equity for refugee and immigrant communities. Her work is driven by the commitment to work on improving access to care and enhancing patient engagement through culturally responsive research practices. Sabrina uses her bilingual and bicultural background to foster meaningful connections with diverse populations and contribute to inclusive, community-based research initiatives.
Joongyub Lee, MD, PhD
Visiting Scholar
Joongyub Lee, MD, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine and a participating faculty member at the Center for Regional Healthcare Innovation. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on evaluating and improving the management of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in medically underserved regions. He has participated in various research projects supported by central and local government agencies to enhance disease management in these areas. Through his work with the research division of the Korean National Heart and Stroke Center, Dr. Lee identified markedly low rates of medication adherence for chronic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease management, as well as significant regional disparities in adherence that contribute to differences in clinical outcomes and patient survival. His interest in advancing medication adherence research led him to join the BPCARE study at the Displacement and Health Research Center as a visiting scholar, where he is involved in developing and evaluating interventions to improve adherence.
Current Projects
Climate, Displacement and Health
Background
Climate change is a powerful driver of displacement and a significant threat to global health. Extreme weather events such as wildfires, drought, floods and heatwaves disrupt livelihoods, uproot communities and intensify pre-existing vulnerabilities. Displaced populations frequently face overcrowded shelters, limited access to healthcare, heightened exposure to infectious diseases, and profound psychosocial stress. Slow-onset climate pressures, including long-term drought, extreme temperatures,and environmental degradation, also push families to migrate, particularly in regions where climate change intersects with conflict or mining-related land loss, as seen in parts of Syria and several African nations. Understanding these intertwined forces is critical for designing meaningful health interventions and policies.
About This Project
This study examines how climate-related exposures influence cardiovascular health among Syrian refugees resettled in San Diego. Because many refugees traveled through multiple countries before arrival, the team uses Google Earth Engine to retrospectively quantify exposure to dust, pollutants, drought severity, and environmental hazards across their migration trajectories. In partnership with the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, this project represents the first attempt to link climate exposure histories with long-term health outcomes among displaced populations.
Hypertension Self-Management in Refugees (BPCARE Study – NIH/NHLBI)
Background
Refugees experience significantly higher rates of uncontrolled hypertension compared to the general U.S. population. Barriers such as limited health literacy, trauma, language challenges and inequitable access to care contribute to poor cardiovascular outcomes. In San Diego, hypertension has been identified as a leading health concern among newly arrived refugee communities.
About This Project
BPCARE is the first randomized controlled trial ever conducted exclusively among refugee populations and is funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The project is carried out in partnership with a Federally Qualified Health Center and numerous community organizations. It evaluates the feasibility of at-home blood pressure monitoring and patient-centered education as tools to improve hypertension control. By examining patients, their social networks, and their clinicians, this pilot will provide essential groundwork for a future large-scale clinical trial aimed at improving cardiovascular health outcomes in refugee populations nationwide.
Perceptions of Dementia Risk and Care Among Arab Refugees in San Diego
Background
Dementia and mild cognitive impairment are often underdiagnosed in refugee and immigrant communities, particularly among Arab refugee populations who face compounding barriers such as stigma, cultural differences, discrimination and limited access to health care. As many Arab refugees age in exile after decades of displacement, the absence of culturally informed dementia research results in late diagnoses and unmet care needs.
About This Project
This exploratory study investigates how Arab refugees in San Diego perceive cognitive aging, memory loss, and dementia risk. It also gathers preliminary data from healthcare providers to better understand the challenges and opportunities for dementia screening and care. The project aims to build a foundation for future research and to guide the development of culturally responsive dementia-care models for Arab refugee communities.
Brain Health of Displaced Populations (UC San Francisco ARCH Network)
Background
Forced migration is a chronic stressor with long-term implications for brain health. Older refugees, an understudied and vulnerable group, face heightened risks of cognitive decline due to trauma, encampment, displacement and disrupted social networks. Using frameworks of resilience and institutionalization, this project explores how experiences within refugee camps shape cognitive aging.
About This Project
In collaboration with the ARCH Network at UC San Francisco, this study examines the ways encampment experiences influence cognition among Arab, East African, and Afghan older refugees in San Diego. It explores resilience, social connectedness, and reentry frameworks to better support aging refugees. This will be the first study to characterize the cognitive effects of encampment specifically among Arab refugees and may inform both public health strategies and immigration policy as the nation considers more equitable approaches to refugee integration.
Understanding Health and Long-Term Services for Migrants with Dementia in California (California Department of Public Health)
Background
California is home to one of the largest immigrant and refugee populations in the United States. Migrants face disproportionate dementia risk due to a combination of social and structural inequities, including language barriers, limited access to culturally informed healthcare, and inadequate dementia-specific support. Despite this, little is known about how migrants navigate the dementia care journey, from diagnosis through long-term support.
About This Project
Funded through the California Department of Public Health, this project is part of a statewide consortium dedicated to improving dementia care for migrant communities. It examines the health service experiences, long-term support needs and care pathways used by migrants living with dementia and their families. The project uses a qualitative, community-engaged approach to identify gaps and to develop community-informed strategies that can guide future health policies and create more equitable systems of dementia support across California.
Afghan Mental Health Youth Project (Switchboard – International Rescue Committee)
Background
Following large-scale resettlement efforts beginning in 2021, Afghan children and adolescents represent a population with significant exposure to trauma, conflict, and forced migration. There is an urgent need for culturally grounded, psychometrically validated mental health tools that can accurately identify risk and resilience in Afghan youth.
About This Project
The DHRC, in partnership with the Research Program on Children and Adversity at Boston College and the International Rescue Committee’s Switchboard Program, is developing and validating a culturally tailored mental health screening toolkit for Afghan children and adolescents. This work involves refining and testing screening instruments, examining their psychometric properties, and developing training materials and practitioner resources. The center will collaborate with Boston College to create webinars and guidance on the psychosocial effects of forced migration on children and on best practices for culturally informed mental health care. The final toolkit and resources will be published on the Switchboard platform for national use by refugee-serving agencies.
Educational Initiatives
Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Health Elective (UC San Diego School of Medicine)In collaboration with the UC San Diego School of Medicine, the center co-developed MED 286: Refugee, Immigrant and Migrant Health, an eight-week elective for first- and second-year medical students. The elective combines classroom instruction with immersive site visits to refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations across San Diego. Students learn how cultural, legal and financial factors shape patient experiences and how to provide culturally sensitive, patient-centered care. They engage with community advocates, clinical experts, and local health systems to understand the interdisciplinary nature of caring for refugee, immigrant and migrant communities.
Through this elective, students develop clinical considerations for working with RIM populations, gain familiarity with community resources, and reflect on the broader structural forces that shape migrant health. The course concludes with student presentations analyzing key topics in RIM health and offering policy and clinical recommendations. The elective is led by faculty across UC San Diego and supported by teaching assistants who help facilitate on-campus learning and community-based visits.
Affiliations, Partners, and Funding
- Alzheimer’s Association
- California Department of Public Health
- Chaldean Community Council
- Family Health Centers of San Diego
- Global Brain Health Institute
- Majdal Center
- National Institute of Aging
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health
- Somali Family Services
- Survivors of Torture
- Switchboard, The International Rescue Committee
- The Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA), Boston College
- UC San Francisco ARCH Network
Contact Us
Instagram: @dhrcenter