About

Barrak is a research fellow in the Exposure, Epidemiology and Risk (EER) Program at the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, he is also a Mission Scholar from the College of Public Health, Kuwait University. He holds a medical degree from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a PhD in Population Health Sciences from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Barrak defended his dissertation titled “Climate Change & Health: Implications for Inherently Hot Regions and Cardiovascular Health” on April 28, 2022.

Barrak works with his advisor Professor Petros Koutrakis on air quality, climate change & health in the Middle East, specifically the adverse impacts of dust storms and extreme temperatures. He extensively studied the effects of environmental exposures on the health of migrant workers. Barrak's research include a special interest in environmental cardiology and risk assessment. His work was highlighted by professional health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Heart Association (AHA) as well as many media outlets. In 2022, he was named in the inaugural list of 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Awardees highlighting rising leaders and innovators of the public health field by the Boston Congress of Public Health. Prior to his work at Harvard, he was a physician at the Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuwait.