Nicola Hawley, PhD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases)Cards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases)
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Associate Director for Dissemination and Implementation Science, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI)
Biography
Dr. Nicola Hawley is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Disease) at the Yale School of Public Health and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Anthropology at Yale University. She also serves as Associate Director for Dissemination and Implementation Science at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. Trained as a human biologist, Dr. Hawley is an internationally recognized expert in maternal and child health, with particular expertise in the developmental origins of obesity and related chronic diseases.
Her interdisciplinary research bridges epidemiology, anthropology, and global health to examine how early life exposures—during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood—shape long-term health. She employs a life-course perspective and mixed-methods approaches across cross-sectional, cohort, and randomized controlled trial designs to identify critical windows for intervention. A hallmark of her work is the integration of community-engaged and culturally responsive strategies to address maternal and child health disparities in under-resourced and Indigenous settings.
While her primary research focus is on Pacific Islander communities in Samoa, American Samoa, and the US, Dr. Hawley has built long-standing collaborations in South Africa, Uganda, New Zealand, and the United States, contributing to global evidence on perinatal health, childhood growth, and intergenerational disease risk.
Her current research portfolio includes NIH- and PCORI-funded studies addressing gestational and Type 2 diabetes, prevention of excess gestational weight gain, childhood obesity, and cardiometabolic risk across generations. She is also leading efforts to develop culturally grounded interventions that span pregnancy through adolescence, aiming to disrupt the intergenerational transmission of chronic disease. As a mentor, Dr. Hawley plays a central role in training the next generation of US and global health scientists, serving as primary mentor on multiple NIH career development awards (K01, K99, F30, F31) focused on Pacific Islander health.
Appointments
Chronic Disease Epidemiology
Associate Professor TenurePrimaryAnthropology
Associate Professor TenureSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Anthropology
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology
- Obesity Research Working Group
- Yale Institute for Global Health
- Yale Network for Global Non-Communicable Diseases (NGN)
- Yale School of Public Health
- YSPH Global Health Concentration
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Brown University (2014)
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Brown University (2011)
- PhD
- Loughborough University (2009)
- BS
- Loughborough University (2005)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News & Links
News
- December 09, 2025
Study examines gestational diabetes in American Samoan women
- October 09, 2025Source: Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Genetic studies in American Samoa could impact other Pacific communities
- August 05, 2025
Collaborative Program Aims To Improve Study of HIV and Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Uganda
- May 07, 2025
Experts Discuss Global Health Strategies at Second Annual Symposium
Get In Touch
Contacts
Chronic Disease Epidemiology
60 College Street, P.O. Box 208034
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
Locations
60 College Street
Academic Office
Ste 438
New Haven, CT 06510