Mohammed Abba-Aji

Lecturer in Public Health & Society | Special Projects Manager, School of Public Health

MD, University of Maiduguri
MPH, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

contact info:

Email: abba-aji@wustl.edu

Dr. Mohammed Abba-Aji is a physician–population health scientist with more than a decade of clinical practice and population-based research. His research focuses on how violence, displacement, and other social determinants shape mental health in the United States and worldwide. Dr. Abba-Aji joins Washington University in St. Louis from Boston University School of Public Health, where he was a Research Fellow in Epidemiology.

Courses

Foundations in Public Health

This course examines the foundations in public health using an equity and social justice approach emphasizing the interconnectedness of population and individual health. The course will cover the history and impact of public health, including the importance of health equity, social justice, and human rights, as well as the essential role of ethics in public health. The course will expose students to various public health professionals working on inter-professional teams to explore careers in public health, we will invite public health and community health experts from the St. Louis region as well as national and international guest speakers.

PUBHLTHSOC 1000

Introduction to Epidemiology

This course introduces core tools of epidemiology-the study of the distribution and determinants of health in populations. Students define and interpret basic measures (incidence, prevalence, risk, odds), compare common study designs (cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, randomized trials), identify threats to validity (bias, confounding, effect modification), and communicate findings clearly to non-technical audiences. No coding is required.

PUBHLTHSOC 3700

Recent Publications:

Abba-Aji, Mohammed, and Sandro Galea. “The Health Implications of US Federal Changes to Non-Health Structures and Policies.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, October 8, 2025.

Abba-Aji, Mohammed, and Nason Maani. “Countering the Arms Industry as a Commercial Determinant of Health.” BMJ 390 (September 1, 2025).

Galea, Sandro, and Mohammed Abba-Aji. “Integrating Population Health Science and Systems Thinking into Suicide Prevention.” Psychiatry 88, no. 1 (January 2, 2025): 17–22.

Galea, Sandro, and Mohammed Abba-Aji. “New Directions for Population Health Science and Scholarship.” JAMA Health Forum 5, no. 11 (November 7, 2024).

Abba-Aji, Mohammed, Shaffi Fazaludeen Koya, Salma M. Abdalla, Catherine K. Ettman, Gregory Herschel Cohen, and Sandro Galea. “The Mental Health Consequences of Interpersonal Gun Violence: A Systematic Review.” SSM - Mental Health 5 (June 2024): 100302.

Abba-Aji, Mohammed, Angela Moreland, Salma M. Abdalla, Caitlin Rancher, Sandro Galea, Faraday Davies, and Dean G. Kilpatrick. “Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after a Mass Shooting.” JAMA Network Open 7, no. 3 (March 19, 2024).

Abba-Aji, Mohammed, David Stuckler, Sandro Galea, and Martin McKee. “Ethnic/Racial Minorities’ and Migrants’ Access to Covid-19 Vaccines: A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators.” Journal of Migration and Health 5 (2022): 100086.

Rajan, Selina, Cornelia Santoso, Mohammed Abba-Aji, David Stuckler, Martin McKee, Eleanor Hutchinson, Obinna Onwujekwe, and Dina Balabanova. “Gender Differences in Informal Payments for Healthcare: Evidence from 34 African Countries.” Health Policy and Planning 37, no. 1 (October 18, 2021): 132–39.

in the news:

10.29.25 | Student Life

Students encouraged to shape their own learning in new Public Health & Society program

10.20.25 | Duke University Press