Bizu Gelaye, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

677 Huntington Ave., Room 505
Boston, MA 02115
Phone 617-432-1071
Email bgelaye@hsph.harvard.edu

Other Affiliations

Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School and The Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

Teaching Faculty
Center for Bioethics, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine
Harvard Medical School

Research Interests

Dr. Bizu Gelaye is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health,  Harvard Medical School and The Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital. He is an associate member of the Broad Institute’s Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research Program  and Teaching Faculty at the Center for Bioethics in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gelaye’s research makes innovative use of population-based data and biomarkers to understand resilience and risk factors for neuropsychiatric disorders. His work, in collaboration with multidisciplinary researchers, focuses on how trauma affects health across the life course and intergenerationally. Dr. Gelaye’s research also includes a focus on the application of psychometric methods in cross-cultural settings. In addition to research, Dr. Gelaye is a highly regarded mentor preparing outstanding, diverse public health scientists and leaders. He served as program director of the Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) program for more than 10 years. Currently, he is the program director of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Mississippi Delta Partnership in Public Health Program and the associate director of the Global Initiative for Neuropsychiatric Genetics Education in Research (GINGER) Program.

Selected Publications

  1. Gelaye B, Foster S, Bhasin M, Tawakol A, Fricchione G. SARS-CoV-2 morbidity and mortality in racial/ethnic minority populations: A window into the stress related inflammatory basis of health disparities? Brain Behav Immun Health. 2020 Dec;9:100158. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100158. Epub 2020 Oct 8. PMID: 33052326; PMCID: PMC7543984.
  2. Gelaye B, Rondon MB, Araya R, Williams MA. Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet Psychiatry. 2016 Oct;3(10):973-982. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30284-X. Epub 2016 Sep 17. PMID: 27650773; PMCID: PMC5155709.
  3. Shen H, Gelaye B, Huang H, Rondon MB, Sanchez S, Duncan LE. Polygenic prediction and GWAS of depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation/self-harm in a Peruvian cohort. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2020 Sep;45(10):1595-1602. doi: 10.1038/s41386-020-0603-5. Epub 2020 Jan 11. PMID: 31926482; PMCID: PMC7419528.
  4. Gelaye B, Clish CB, Denis M, Larrabure G, Tadesse MG, Deik A, Pierce K, Bullock K, Dennis C, Enquobahrie DA, Williams MA. Metabolomics signatures associated with an oral glucose challenge in pregnant women. Diabetes Metab. 2018 Jan 11. pii: S1262-3636(18)30006-5. PubMed PMID: 29395809.
  5. Levey EJ, Rondon MB, Sanchez S, Zhong QY, Williams MA, Gelaye B. Suicide risk  assessment: examining transitions in suicidal behaviors among pregnant women in Perú. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2018 Jul 3. [Epub  ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29971552.
  6. Chahal HS, Gelaye B, Mostofsky E, Sanchez SE, Mittleman MA, Maclure M, Pacora  P, Torres JA, Romero R, Ananth CV, Williams MA. Physical Exertion Immediately Prior to Placental Abruption: A Case-Crossover Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Jul 9. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29992226
  7.  Gelaye B, Zhong QY, Basu A, Levey EJ, Rondon MB, Sanchez S, Koenen KC, Henderson DC, Williams MA. Trauma and traumatic stress in a sample of pregnant women. Psychiatry Res. 2017 Nov;257:506-513. PubMed PMID: 28843870.
  8. Gelaye B, Kirschbaum C, Zhong QY, Sanchez SE, Rondon MB, Koenen KC, Williams MA. Chronic HPA activity in mothers with preterm delivery: A pilot nested case-control study. J Neonatal Perinatal Med. 2020;13(3):313-321. doi: 10.3233/NPM-180139. PMID: 31744018.
  9. Gelaye B, Zhong QY, Barrios YV, Redline S, Drake CL, Williams MA. Psychometric Evaluation of the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) in Early Pregnancy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2016 Feb 1. pii: jc-00330-15. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26857055.
  10. Gelaye B, Larrabure-Torrealva GT, Qiu C, Luque-Fernandez MA, Peterlin BL, Sanchez SE, Williams MA. Fasting lipid and lipoproteins concentrations in pregnant women with a history of migraine. Headache. 2015 May;55(5):646-57. PubMed PMID: 25904286; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4439363
  11. Gelaye B, Lohsoonthorn V, Lertmeharit S, Pensuksan WC, Sanchez SE, Lemma S, Berhane Y, Zhu X, Vélez JC, Barbosa C, Anderade A, Tadesse MG, Williams MA. Construct validity and factor structure of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale in a multi-national study of African, South East Asian and South American college students. PLoS One. 2014 Dec 31;9(12):e116383. View in: PubMed
  12. Gelaye B, Williams MA, Lemma S, Deyessa N, Bahretibeb Y, Shibre T, Wondimagegn D, Lemenh A, Fann JR, Vander Stoep A, Zhou XA. Validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for Depression Screening and Diagnosis in East Africa. Psychiatric Research 2013. PubMed

For a complete list of publications, click here.