The Duke Global Health Institute community comprises more than 300 faculty and staff, working across a range of disciplines and bringing diverse skills to advance the institute’s mission. In our faculty/staff newsletter, Insider, we highlight members of our community through these “Faces of DGHI” features. This page includes present and past profiles, offering a way to get to know the interests and passions of some of the people who make the institute’s work possible.
Armstrong Obale
Armstrong Obale is a Research Analyst I with the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health. He has two graduate degree from the University of Buea in epidemiology and control of infectious disease and DGHI’s Master of Science in Global Health program. Prior to Duke, Obale volunteered for three years as a field coordinator in a nurse-led rural diabetes management project in his native country.
I’ve worked at DGHI for…
a year and six months. In my role, I do data analyses, data management, protocol management on iRIS and REDCap.
The most rewarding part of my work is…
is uncovering insights from data. It’s truly enjoyable to do something I’m passionate about. I am deeply committed to global health and equity, ensuring everyone has access to better health outcomes.
The most memorable experience I’ve had through my job…
is uncovering insights from data. It’s truly enjoyable to do something I’m passionate about. I am deeply committed to global health and equity, ensuring everyone has access to better health outcomes.
The most memorable experience I’ve had through my job…
has been contributing to the early stages of clinical research, which, I believe is creating an unforgettable first-time experience for me.
Something people may not know about me…
is how much I value sleep—I rarely trade my sleep, especially when I’m feeling tired.
If I’m not working, I am likely…
listening to YouTube videos, watching movies, or honing my piano skills.
What I value most about DGHI:
it’s truly “global” nature, with meaningful representation from around the world. I also admire how the building is thoughtfully designed to reflect a global feel, which adds to its unique charm.
Stephanie Ibemere
Stephanie Ibemere is an assistant professor at the Duke School of Nursing and associate director of the Nursing Center for Evidence Based Practice – IVAN Research Institute. In addition to these roles, Ibemere teaches in the Master of Science in Nursing program and has been involved in DGHI’s Master of Science in Global Health program as a committee member to students pursuing the degree. She is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a first-generation Nigerian American who was born to “tenacious and incredibly intelligent Nigerian parents.”
I’ve worked at DGHI…
since Fall 2022 when I joined as affiliate faculty.
The most rewarding part of my work is …
being part of social justice-oriented actions, which support the advancement of knowledge across the world. Particularly, I have and continue to find great joy in my work with colleagues in Nigeria and soon enough in Uganda focused on improving the clinical model of care for sickle cell disease. It is exciting to be part of empowering nurses to lead change initiatives which impact large populations of people and hear from these same nurses how much they have gained from our interactions. It honestly is my “why.”
I feel passionate about …
increasing access to contextualized, evidence-based care and forming teams who generate the evidence that is translated to practice. There is nothing more exciting to be part of a team which understands the importance of context on healthcare and health seeking behaviors.
The most memorable experience I’ve had through my job…
was listening to the presentations of newly empowered nurses and community members regarding a health topic for which they were formerly very worried about presenting to a group. This was my experience of participating in a one-week workshop focused on developing a palliative care model for Nigeria last April.
Something people may not know about me…
is meteorology and astronomy fascinate me.
If I’m not working, I am likely…
working on a service project I have been part of for more than a decade called Guatemala Interfaith Medical Service Project. The cause is to support healthcare capacity for the clinic at La Ciudad de Esperanza, Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
What I value most about DGHI:
the overwhelming sense of community and dedication to the institute’s mission.
John Crump
John Crump, M.D., is an adjunct professor in medicine, pathology and global health. He was born in Oamaru, New Zealand and earned his medical degrees from the University of Otago Medical School in his native country. An infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist, he currently serves as director of the Otago Global Health Institute and his research focus is on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of infectious causes of fever in the tropics other than malaria.
I’ve worked at DGHI…
since it was founded. I served as the inaugural director of the Duke University-Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre Collaboration from 2002 to 2011.
The most rewarding part of my work is…
bringing attention to neglected diseases that cause a lot of illness and death, and seeing some of them through, usually over several decades, to the implementation of new interventions.
I feel passionate about …
the idea that our obligations and duties are not limited to ourselves, our family, or our compatriots, but extend to all persons.
The most memorable experience I’ve had through my job…
starting out in Moshi, Tanzania in 2002 as the sole member of the Duke-KCMC Collaboration with lots of support and goodwill from Duke and Tanzanian colleagues, and wondering where it might all lead.
Something people may not know about me…
I grew up on a sheep farm in New Zealand, so I’m comfortable with shearing sheep, slaughtering livestock and using farm machinery. I am licensed to drive trucks, diggers and other heavy machinery. My background in farming means that I gravitate towards work with zoonoses, especially livestock zoonoses, and veterinarians. I serve in a range of advisory and service roles including with the World Health Organization, such as on the burden of invasive salmonelloses to the Foodborne Diseases Epidemiology Reference Group, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization Working Group on Typhoid Vaccines, and the WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Technical Advisory Group on Salmonella vaccines.
If I’m not working, I am likely…
mountain biking or doing something else outdoors with my family. My other hobbies include vegetable gardening, home weather stationing and solving a genetic or conventional genealogy problems. I read a lot of non-fiction to try to understand enough about what academic colleagues in other disciplines do to figure out how to work with them.
What I value most about DGHI:
past and present mentors, colleagues, collaborators, and students.
Brian McAdoo
A Duke alumnus, Brian McAdoo, Ph.D., came back to Duke in 2021 as an associate professor of Earth and climate sciences with the Nicholas School of the Environment. A marine geologist by training, McAdoo’s roles at the university include principal investigator of the PlanetLab, which looks at how human development is damaging Earth systems that support life and the ways resulting disasters disproportionately affect marginalized communities. While he was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa., he has deep family roots in Greensboro.
I’ve worked at DGHI…
since Fall 2024 as an affiliate faculty. I’m also the director of undergraduate studies for the earth and climate science major, and I teach a course on experiential learning in Earth sciences and on disaster risk.
The most rewarding part of my work is…
is having access to the best and brightest young minds who are dedicated to addressing an array of planetary health challenges.
I feel passionate about …
the need to focus resources on the communities that need them the most- those marginalized by race, gender, religion, economics, politics, and the like. Also, I am a disaster researcher with projects in Nepal, Pakistan, Madagascar, Brazil and North Carolina.
The most memorable experience I’ve had through my job…
was watching my Ph.D. student from a rural part of the Pakistani Himalayas interact with Nepalis in rural mountain communities that share a common understanding of the challenges they face in a rapidly changing environment.
If I’m not working, I am likely…
eating street food across Asia, out on my bike or walking in the woods with my dog.
What I value most about DGHI:
is being able to collaborate with a diversity of people approaching an array of critical issues using a variety of impressive tools.