Dr Dannenberg, an older white man with gray hair

Andrew L. Dannenberg, MD, MPH

Affiliate Professor
Email: adannen@uw.edu
Expertise: Sustainable Communities, Built Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Health, Health Equity, Risk Assessment

About

Andrew L. Dannenberg, MD, MPH, is an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington, where he teaches courses on health and built environment and on health impact assessment. Before coming to Seattle, he served as Team Leader of the Healthy Community Design Initiative in the National Center for Environmental Health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2023, Dr. Dannenberg was appointed to the City of Seattle Planning Commission for a three-year term.

For the past 20 years, his research and teaching have focused on examining the health aspects of community design, including land use, transportation, urban planning, equity, climate change and other issues related to the built environment. He has a particular interest in the use of a health impact assessment as a tool to inform community planners about the health consequences of their decisions.

Previously, he served as director of CDC's Division of Applied Public Health Training, as Preventive Medicine Residency director and injury prevention epidemiologist on the faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and as a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Dr. Dannenberg is board-certified in preventive medicine (1986-present). He completed a residency in family practice at the Medical University of South Carolina and was board-certified in family practice (1982-1989).

Education

  • MD, Stanford University
  • MPH, Johns Hopkins University

Affiliations

Program Director, UW Master of Public Health/Master of Urban Planning Concurrent Degree Program

Mentorship

Available to mentor new Master's students in autumn 2026. Please follow the instructions on the How To Apply page.

DEOHS Students Mentored

Health, Climate, and Energy Co-Benefits of 2020 Residential Solar Panel Mandate in California
Marissa VanRy | MPH | 2021 | View

Use and effectiveness of health impact assessment in the energy and natural resources sector in the United States, 2007–2016
Esi Wusuwa Nkyekyer | MPH | 2018 | View

Evaluation of Employment-Related Health Impact Assessments
Hee Yon Sohng | MPH | 2015 | View

Media Mentions

Dual degree alum explores the crossover between public health and planning
| DEOHS HSM Blog | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg, Nicole Errett | View
Walkability isn’t just good urban planning: It’s a public health intervention
February 14, 2025 | The Urbanist | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
Can $1.55 billion make Seattle streets safer?
October 21, 2024 | Seattle Times | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
University of Washington study finds Seattle's Vision Zero projects pose no threat to local business revenue
March 1, 2024 | Hoodline | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
Improving road safety in Seattle doesn’t come at a cost to businesses
| DEOHS HSM Blog | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
Get ready to share the road with a self-driving vehicle
December 8, 2022 | WebMD | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
Population health grants boost wildfire and climate research
| DEOHS HSM Blog | Featured: Nicole Errett, Tania M Busch Isaksen, Jeremy J Hess, Kristie L. Ebi, Andrew L. Dannenberg, Esther Min | View
Retooling for online learning
| DEOHS HSM Blog | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg, Stephanie Farquhar | View
Saving lives and the planet
| DEOHS HSM Blog | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View
Uprooting ancient communities in the face of rising sea levels and climate change
April 22, 2019 | UW Daily | Featured: Andrew L. Dannenberg | View