Biography

Dr. Chighaf Bakour is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the college of public health. She teaches epidemiology courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and mentors graduate students in the epidemiology concentrations, in addition to serving as the faculty lead for the MPH and MSPH in epidemiology. She is dedicated to improving the content and delivery of epidemiology courses and in providing online and on-campus students with the best possible experience in the program.

Dr. Bakour obtained her PhD in public health with a concentration in epidemiology from USF COPH, her MPH from Independence University, and her MD from Damascus University in Syria, where she practiced medicine for few years before moving to the United States. Her medical training, combined with her epidemiological and quantitative training, inform her research focus on chronic diseases and the life course. She is interested in maternal and child health, particularly adolescent health, and the impact of early life exposures on future health outcomes. Specifically, she studies the effect of sleep duration and quality on the risk and progression of chronic diseases. More recently, she has developed an interest in the impact of adverse childhood experiences on sleep, mental health, and risk of chronic diseases. Additionally, Dr. Bakour has a passion for data analysis and application of epidemiology methods in the investigation of a variety of health-related problems.