Eugenia South is an American physician, academic researcher, and public health expert. She serves as an associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, she is the faculty director of the Penn Urban Health Lab and serves as the Associate Vice President of Clinical Care Transformation for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
South's research focuses on the intersection of the physical environment and public health, with a specific emphasis on urban health equity and neighborhood safety. She is known for investigating "structural interventions"—such as the greening of vacant lots, the planting of trees, and the remediation of abandoned housing—as methods to reduce community violence and improve mental and cardiovascular health. Her work often utilizes randomized controlled trials to quantify the impact of these place-based changes on resident well-being.
In her clinical role, South is a practicing physician in the emergency department at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. She earned her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Science in Health Policy Research from the University of Pennsylvania. Her findings have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA, and she is frequently cited as an expert on the role of urban planning in violence prevention and public health policy.