Faculty Information

Fernando Neves Hugo

Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion
345 East 24th Street
E-mail: fnh9064@nyu.edu

I am an Associate Professor and of the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion at the New York University College of Dentistry, trained in Dentistry, Gerontology, and Dental Public Health.

My research interests focus on identifying the mechanism explaining oral health inequities, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations and on the effects of food and foods systems on chronic oral diseases. I am also interested in the development and implementation of health innovations that contribute to integrating oral health into primary care and to tackling the burden of oral diseases while promoting equity.

My recent studies have examined the determinants of oral and oropharyngeal cancers, including the relative contribution of tobacco and alcohol to disease incidence, mortality, and burden; evaluated the importance of ultra-processed food consumption to chronic oral diseases using a social determinants of health inequalities approach; and developed novel technologies to promote access to equitable oral health care within the context of primary care.

Before joining NYU College of Dentistry, I was an Associate Professor with tenure at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Faculty of Dentistry in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where I served as the Director of the Center for Social Dentistry Research for almost a decade. In this role, I was responsible for supporting the faculty’s research efforts in Dental Public Health and fostering collaboration with other research institutions, local, state and national health departments.

I have been PI or Co-PI on several funded research projects and have collaborated with local and national health departments in Brazil and with researchers in several different countries. I also have mentored over 30 MPH, MSc and PhD students, most of whom have gone on to successful service research careers.