Ranjan Deka, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Environmental Health, has been named to the Cancer, Heart and Sleep Epidemiology B Study Section of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His appointment begins immediately, with his term ending on June 30, 2023.

He has previously served as a chartered member of the NIH's Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section. Deka’s laboratory work focuses on the identification of susceptibility genes predisposed to common and complex diseases, and his recent research has examined unique genetic variants in native Samoan populations that put them at a higher risk of obesity.