Our Team

Brian Elbel, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Population Health and Health Policy at NYU Wagner and the NYU School of Medicine, where he heads the Section on Health Choice, Policy and Evaluation within the Department of Population Health. He also Directs the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity and is Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Office of Science and Research.

Dr. Elbel studies how individuals make decisions that influence their health, with a particular emphasis on evaluation, obesity and food choice. His work uses behavioral economics to understand health decision-making among vulnerable groups, and the role and influence of public policy on these decisions. His research has included the role of the food environment and the built environment on obesity; the impact of public policies mandating calorie labeling in restaurants; the impact of school food policies on childhood obesity; the potential impact of NYC’s policy limiting the size of sugar sweetened beverages at restaurants; and the impact of policies supporting the development of supermarkets in high need areas, among other areas.

His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New York State Health Foundation, and the Aetna Foundation. His work has been featured in numerous national television, radio, and print media outlets. Dr. Elbel has a B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and an MPH and PhD in Health Policy/Health Economics from Yale University.