F. Benjamin Zhan

Professor
Ph.D., Geography, SUNY Buffalo, 1994
Office:  ELA 319
Phone: 512.245.8846
Email:  zhan@txstate.edu
Full CV   HB2504 information
Research Interests: Health/Medical Geography; Geographic Information Science; Spatial Data Science; Earthquake Hazards Reduction; Transportation; China

 

 

Biography

Professor Zhan has made significant original contributions in cancer disparity analysis, environmental epidemiology, network analysis, and the development of geospatial analytical methods. He pioneered the concept of Spatially Informed Cancer Prevention and Control. He has written or co-authored 120+ peer-reviewed publications. His work has been cited widely by researchers in over 40 countries. His research has been supported by various federal and state agencies. Among the 20 graduated Ph.D. students that Professor Zhan supervised or co-supervised, many of them secured tenured or tenure-track positions in research universities, prestigious private companies, federal and state agencies, and other organizations. Two of his Ph.D. students won the prestigious J. Warren Nystrom Award (best dissertation award in geography in North America). Among other awards, Professor Zhan was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities at Texas State University and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Conference of (200+) Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) in the US.

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Selected Publications

Brender JD, Weyer PJ, Romitti PA, Mohanty BP, Shinde MU, Vuong AM, Sharkey JR, Dwivedi D, Horel SA, Kantamneni J, Huber JC Jr, Zheng Q,
     Werler MM, Kelley KE, Griesenbeck JS, Zhan FB, Langlois PH, Suarez L, Canfield MA; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. 2013.
     Prenatal nitrate intake from drinking water and selected birth defects in offspring of participants in the national birth defects prevention
     study.  Environmental Health Perspective 121(9):1083-9. PMID: 23771435

Chen, X; Zhan, FB. 2008. Agent-based modeling and simulation of urban evacuation: relative of simultaneous and staged evacuation strategies.
     Journal of the Operational Research Society 59(1): 25-33.

Gong X, Lin Y, Bell ML, Zhan FB. 2018. Associations between maternal residential proximity to air emissions from industrial facilities and low
     birth weight in Texas, USA. Environment International 120:181-198. PMID: 30096612

Hanford EJ, Zhan FB, Lu Y, Giordano A. 2007. Chagas disease in Texas: recognizing the significance and implications of evidence in the literature.
     Social Science and Medicine 65(1):60-79. PMID: 17434248

Langlois PH, Brender JD, Suarez L, Zhan FB, Mistry JH, Scheuerle A, Moody K. 2009. Maternal residential proximity to waste sites and industrial
     facilities and conotruncal heart defects in offspring. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 23(4):321-31. PMID: 19523079

Tian N, Goovaerts P, Zhan FB, Chow TE, Wilson JG. 2012. Identifying risk factors for disparities in breast cancer mortality among
     African-American and Hispanic women. Women’s Health Issues 22(3):e267-76. PubMed PMID: 22265181

Wan N, Zhan FB, Lu Y, Tiefenbacher JP. 2012. Access to healthcare and disparities in colorectal cancer survival in Texas. Health Place
     18(2):321-9.  PubMed PMID: 22118939

Yao Z, Tang J, Zhan FB. 2011. Detection of arbitrarily-shaped clusters using a neighbor-expanding approach: a case study on murine typhus in
     south Texas. International Journal of Health Geographics 10:23. PubMed PMID: 21453514

Zhan FB, Lin Y. 2014. Racial/Ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities of cervical cancer advanced-stage diagnosis in Texas. Women’s
     Health Issues 24(5):519-27. PubMed PMID: 25128038

Zhan FB, Noon CE. 1998. Shortest Path Algorithms: An Evaluation Using Real Road Networks. Transportation Science 32(1): 65-73.