I’m Thoai Ngo, a population and global health scientist whose work asks a fundamental question: how do the forces transforming our world shape people’s health, opportunities, and ability to live the lives they choose?

Across more than two decades, I have studied how inequality, population change, migration, climate, technology, and political and economic disruption affect people and populations—and what evidence can teach us about building systems that respond better. My work has spanned sexual and reproductive health, adolescent health and well-being, gender and inequality, human mobility and urban environments, and population dynamics. Increasingly, I examine how major global forces—from climate and technological change to political and economic disruption—are reshaping population health and the future of global health.

I am the Harriet and Robert H. Heilbrunn Professor and Chair of Population and Family Health at Columbia University, where I lead an interdisciplinary community working across research, education, policy, and practice. I also host PopTalks, a podcast bringing candid conversations and evidence to the forces shaping our health and well-being.

I advise on policy and agenda-setting in collaboration with multilateral and bilateral donors, private foundations, universities, UN agencies, and governments around the world.

My career has moved between academia and global research organizations. Before Columbia, I served as the Vice President of Social and Behavioral Science Research at Population Council, Vice President of Research at Innovations for Poverty Action, Head of Global Research at MSI Reproductive Choices, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, and a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

I have also focused throughout my career on building institutions and tools that help move evidence into action. I founded the Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center and the Adolescent Data Hub. I also conceptualized the Adolescent Atlas for Action (A3), which brings data and evidence together to inform action for adolescents.

Mentorship has been central to my journey, and creating opportunities for the next generation is central to how I think about leadership. Through mentoring young scientists, building research talents globally, and initiatives such as the PopFam Future Changemaker Scholarship, I believe some of our most enduring impact comes through the people we invest in—and what they go on to build for others.

Country of experience: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, India, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Zambia, and the US.

My publications and writing.