He received his PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania. His work is focused on investigating the causes and consequences of global non-communicable disease and developing novel approaches to combating chronic diseases at the population level through interventions that target aspects of the social and physical environment. His ongoing projects include work in South Africa, where he is involved in the development of a national health database for chronic disease research and methodological research to improve estimation of the disease burden associated with obesity, and research on electronic cigarette prevalence and patterns of use in connection with cardiovascular disease.