Published June 9, 2014, last updated on April 9, 2018
Three members and affiliates of the Duke Global Health Institute faculty have been named to endowed professorships this year. These are among the most prestigious awards for faculty, recognizing outstanding achievements in education and research at Duke. The announcement was made during the annual dinner honoring the Distinguished Professors of Duke University. The professorships take effect July 1.
Kelly Brownell, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Public Policy
Dean, Sanford School of Public Policy
DGHI faculty member
Brownell is a leading authority on public policies to enhance nutrition and combat obesity. His work primarily focuses on the impact and regulation of food marketing, taxes and food policy, and law and nutrition policy. Brownell has advised the White House, members of congress, governors, world health and nutrition organizations, and media leaders on issues of nutrition, obesity and public policy. In 2006, Time magazine listed Brownell among “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” in its special Time 100 issue featuring those “.. whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world.”
Anirudh Krishna, Edgar T. Thompson Professor of Public Policy
DGHI affiliate
Krishna’s work focuses on how poor communities and individuals in developing countries cope with the structural and personal constraints that result in poverty and powerlessness. He explores issues such as democracy, social mobility, migration, community organization, civil society and public-private partnerships. His most recent book, One Illness Away: Why People Become Poor and How they Escape Poverty (Oxford University Press, 2010), examines poverty dynamics at the household level, tracking movements into and out of poverty of over 35,000 households in 400 communities of India, Kenya, Uganda, Peru and North Carolina, USA.
Bei Wu, Pauline Gratz Professor of Nursing
DGHI faculty member
Wu’s research expertise is focused in the areas of aging and global health.
Her landmark contributions have impacted thinking and knowledge around cognitive function in older adults and its impact on quality of life and oral health, and have shaped policy in these areas. As a social gerontologist, Wu’s career has been distinguished by interdisciplinary collaborations in nursing and dentistry with many academic institutions and organizations in the US and most notably in China. She is considered among the nation’s leading experts on Chinese gerontological issues and has been prominently engaged in a number of Duke’s initiatives in China.
For a full list of 2014 distinguished professors, visit Duke Today.
