Email sali@nus.edu.sg

Dr. Ali’s research focuses on empowering family and community members to be agents of health promotion and, more generally, better understanding and leveraging the powerful role of interpersonal networks in health. He explores innovative, community-driven strategies to improve health outcomes, including the use of digital platforms such as mHealth and social media to engage and support these efforts. His work also examines the complex socio-ecological factors that shape dietary behaviors and cardiovascular health, with an emphasis on creating equitable and sustainable interventions.

With strong mixed-methods training, Dr. Ali has particular a expertise in novel qualitative methodologies, as well as dyadic and social analysis. His research spans multiple countries, including the United States, China, Australia, Pakistan, and Singapore, covering topics such as social and family dynamics, program evaluation, food environments, and digital health interventions. Through interdisciplinary collaborations, Dr. Ali strives to develop pragmatic, culturally tailored public health strategies that create meaningful, sustainable impact at both the community and systems levels.

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

• Family and social dynamics
• Chronic disease prevention
• Diet and nutrition
• Digital technologies and mhealth
• Qualitative and mixed methods

• Survey-based research methods
• Data literacy and interpretation
• Qualitative methods
• Community-based health initiatives

• PhD (Public Health), New York University School of Global Public Health (2023)
• BA (Public Health, Political Science), Johns Hopkins University (2019)

• 2024 PI on NUS SSHSPH Seed Fund for Ground-Up Research grant entitled: Developing and pilot-testing a family-led health promotion model to reduce sodium intake in Singapore: empowering young adults to be agents of health promotion
• 2023 Co-PI on University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford pilot grant entitled: “Pilot-testing an interactive, automated social media intervention to improve dietary attitudes and self-efficacy among South Asian American young adults”
• NUS SSHSPH Research Fellow Teaching Award (2024)

• Research Fellow, National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (2023-2025)
• Research Associate, New York University Grossman School of Medicine (2021-2022)
• Implementation Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine (2021)
• Research Assistant, University of Maryland School of Medicine (2020-2021)
• Research Assistant, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2018-2019)

• Communications Director, The Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health (APIC), American Public Health Association (APHA) (2021-202)

• Ali SH, Lin N, Yi SS. Challenging dietary research measures, concepts, and definitions to promote greater inclusivity of immigrant experiences: considerations and practical recommendations. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023;(Online first). doi:10.1016/j.jand.2023.06.280.
• Ali SH, Yi SS, Kranick J, Lee M, Thorpe LE, Rummo PE. Disentangling the roles of generational status and acculturation on dietary behaviors in disaggregated Asian American subgroups. Appetite. 2022;171:105903. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105903
• Ali SH, Islam NS, Commodore-Mensah Y, Yi SS. Implementing Hypertension Management Interventions in Immigrant Communities in the U.S.: a Narrative Review of Recent Developments and Suggestions for Programmatic Efforts. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2021;23(1):5. doi:10.1007/s11906-020-01121-6
• Ali SH, Mohsin FM, Rouf R, Parekh R, Dhar B, Kaur G, Parekh N, Islam NS, DiClemente RJ. Family involvement within Asian American health interventions: a scoping review and conceptual framework to identify pathways for innovation. Public Health Reports. 2023;138(6):885-895. doi:10.1177/00333549221138851.
• Ali SH, DiClemente RJ, Parekh N. Changing the landscape of South Asian migrant health research by advancing second-generation immigrant health needs. Transl Behav Med. 2021;11(6):1295-1297. doi:10.1093/tbm/ibaa084
• Ali SH, Merdjanoff AA, Parekh N, DiClemente RJ. Development of an Integrated Approach to Virtual Mind-Mapping: Methodology and Applied Experiences to Enhance Qualitative Health Research. Qual Health Res. 2022;32(3):571-580. doi:10.1177/10497323211058161

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