EDUCATION

PhD, Brown School, Prevention Research Centre, Washington University in St. Louis, United States, 2016

Master of Urban Design (MUD), Washington University in St. Louis, United States, 2011

Bachelor of Architecture (BArch), School of Architecture and Planning, Chennai, India, 2007

Dr. Adlakha's research focuses on generating, translating and scaling up evidence for reducing environmental health and social disparities, particularly factors affecting prevention, control and mitigation of chronic and acute non-communicable diseases in populations. Her interests lie in understanding relationships between the built environment and health; documenting and improving geospatial health disparities; and using and improving measures to quantify obesity-related behaviors (physical activity, diet) and relevant exposures (social and built environment) using GIS, accelerometry, GPS, geostatistical approaches, and other new technologies.

Dr. Adlakha's scholarly interests bridge five broad areas:

1. Healthy Places: Understanding the impact of the design of cities, outdoor public spaces, and streets on health and well-being.
2. Active Living: Studying characteristics of walkable environments and influences on health behaviours (physical activity, recreation), travel decisions, and commuting mode choices.
3. Sustainable Lifestyles: Promoting the proactive designing of environments that nudge people to make healthier selections while still retaining freedom of choice. 
   
4. Urban Transformations: Interventions and strategies to provide equitable access to urban infrastructure, amenities and services (e.g., affordable housing, clean water, food, improved hygiene and sanitation).
5. Big Data and Emerging Technologies: Novel technological approaches and Big Data applications to measure and track human behaviours.

Dr. Adlakha has delivered a range of interdisciplinary courses spanning urban design, environmental planning and public health. Her list of taught courses include Transdisciplinary Problem-Solving—From the Inside-Out: Public Health and the Built Environment, Foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Grassroots Approaches to Designing Healthy Communities and Neighborhoods.

She currently teaches the following courses:

1. Design Principles in the Built Environment (BSc Planning, Environment and Development)
2. Comparative Planning Studies (BSc Planning, Environment and Development)
3. Spatial Literacy in Design (MSc City Planning and Design)
4. Independent Research Projects/ Work-based Studies in European Planning Practice (MPlan European Planning)