Hi, I'mJordan Mercer — physician,
public-health researcher
in training.
A practicing physician and postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins — preventive cardiology, tobacco research, and the unglamorous epidemiology that makes prevention possible.
Based · Baltimore, MDAffiliation · Johns HopkinsField · Medical ResearchMedical Research
a working notebook, not a portfolio.
~ entry one ~№ I About
How I got here.
Trained as a physician at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Practiced across internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics, then in the Nigerian Air Force.
Moved to Baltimore for an MPH in Biostatistics & Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, where I ran a COVID-19 case investigation team for the Baltimore City Health Department during the height of the pandemic.
Now five years into postdoctoral research at the Ciccarone Center under Dr. Michael Blaha, working on preventive cardiology and tobacco research. First or co-author on 19+ peer-reviewed papers across JAMA Network Open, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, and Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
photo →
— in the Ciccarone office, '24
~ count of things ~№ II By the numbers
538
Citations
19+
Publications
4
Journals
5yrs
Postdoc
~ current threads ~№ III What I'm working on
Four projects, in various states.
E‑cigarettes & cardiometabolic conditions
An incident-events analysis from the All of Us Research Program. Published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2025.
Published · 2025
SELECT trial eligibility & public health impact
National and state estimates of eligibility for semaglutide under SELECT criteria. JAMA Network Open, 2024.
Published · 2024
CAC for stroke mortality prediction
Whether coronary artery calcium adds incremental prediction value for stroke mortality. CAC Consortium analysis, in revision.
In revision
State-level variation in vaping prevalence
How state policy environments shape e-cigarette use, drawing on BRFSS 2021–24. With Boakye & Blaha.
In progress
~ bibliography ~№ IV Selected publications
Six papers worth pointing at.
i.
Prevalence of clinical obesity vs. BMI‑defined obesity among US adults: a cohort study
Yao Z, Dardari ZA, Razavi AC, Mercer J, … Blaha MJ. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025.
ii.
E‑cigarette use and incident cardiometabolic conditions in All of Us
Mercer J, Yao Z, Tasdighi E, Benjamin EJ, Bhatnagar A, Blaha MJ. Nicotine Tob Res. 2025.
→ first-authoriii.
National & state estimates of SELECT trial eligibility and its public health impact
Mercer J, Khorsandi M, Blaha MJ. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2420105.
→ first-authoriv.
E‑cigarette use among US adults in the 2021 BRFSS Survey
Mercer J, Boakye E, Obisesan O, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(11):e2340859.
v.
Coronary artery calcium for stroke mortality prediction
Mercer J, Boakye E, Dardari Z, … Blaha MJ. Vasc Med. 2024;29(2):213‑214.
vi.
Psychosocial stressors and current e‑cigarette use in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Mercer J, Boakye E, Osuji N. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):1‑9.
~ how I got here ~№ V Path
A working life, in margins.
'21 — now
Postdoctoral Researcher
Johns Hopkins · Ciccarone Center · w/ Dr. Michael Blaha
Baltimore, MD
'20 — '21
Supervisor, COVID‑19 Case Investigations
Baltimore City Health Department
Baltimore, MD
'19 — '20
MPH, Biostatistics & Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, MD
'17 — '19
Medical Officer & Resident
Nigerian Air Force · OAU Teaching Hospital
Nigeria
'08 — '15
MBChB, Medicine & Surgery
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile‑Ife, Nigeria
— let's compare notes —
Open to collaborators, advisees & thoughtful questions.