We use spatial epidemiology, socioecological theory, and spatial data science to investigate how variations in health outcomes are produced and perpetuated across individual, interpersonal, and area-level scales, with a focus on modeling resource dynamics and multidimensional neighborhoods.
We also seek to advance new directions in Humanistic GIS research & socio-technological software development by integrating community-centered design to generate new representations of place.
The Healthy Regions & Policies lab grew out of Dr. Kolak’s research, formalized as a new lab at the University of Chicago in late 2020. In late 2022, the lab moved to the Department of Geography & GIScience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has since grown in magnitudes.
At Illinois, the lab fosters formalized affiliations with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Siebel Center for Design, Institute for Interdisciplinary Health Studies, Center for Social & Behavioral Sciences, and Center for Health Informatics.
Modeling Access
We conceptualize access to resources and health services as multi-scalar, multi-dimensional experiences of place.
A major focus of this connects the research gap between geospatial research & public health analyses on the substance use epidemic (SUD).
Two key aspects of this work include:
- Spatial Access Measure Refinement
- Measuring Place as Multidimensional
Humanistic GIScience
While GISystems have been traditionally viewed as static or sterile software, we consider the “becoming” or emergence of knowledge within the process of GISystems themselves, as well as the nuance of how design impacts the experience of GIS engagement. To do this, we:
- Build Spatial Data Capacity
- Center GISoftware development in Community
- Integrate novel, upstream AI approaches in GIS & Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) applications
Healthy Regions & Policies Lab 