Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, PhD

Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, PhD, is Assistant Dean of Research Education for Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. In this role, she leads the development and implementation of research education curriculum, supervises student research projects, and fosters innovation in research methodologies among medical students.

Prior to joining the School, Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi held multiple leadership roles at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles, California. She served as the Vice Chair of the Institutional Review Board, Director of Faculty Development, Director of Research Education, and Co-Chair for Research in the Psychiatry Department. She also led as the Course Director of the Foundation of Research Longitudinal program. In addition to her responsibilities at CDU, Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi has enriched her academic and mentoring reach as an adjunct professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi completed her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in medical sociology at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi is a prolific scholar with over 170 peer-reviewed publications to her credit. Her scholarly work delves into the social aspects of physical and mental health, health services utilization, and wellbeing, with a strong focus on community-based research and health disparities. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the BioSocial Health Journal and is an Associate Editor for Health Promotion Perspective and the Journal of Injury and Violence Research. Additionally, she is a member of the editorial boards for the International Journal of Collaborative Research on Internal Medicine & Public Health, BioMed Research International: Emergency Medicine, and PLOS ONE.

Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi’s dedication to medical research education has been recognized with numerous accolades, most notably the Most Dedicated Faculty Award and the Outstanding Research Faculty of the Year Award at CDU.