Interdisciplinary approach will fuel research, policy development and program implementation
Tufts is marshaling its far-ranging research and policy expertise to address global health challenges on five continents.
The new Tufts Center for Global Public Health, based in the School of Medicine’s public health and community medicine department, will focus on infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health, employing interdisciplinary research and programs designed to address inequities in access to care.
“The new Tufts center reflects our commitment to improving the human condition through education and discovery,” says Harris A. Berman, dean of Tufts School of Medicine and a professor of public health and community medicine. “As the world undergoes demographic, socio-cultural, economic and epidemiological transitions, research at the center will seek to stay ahead of the curve.”
In partnership with local collaborators and communities, the center will work to improve health in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe and the United States. Research areas include HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases, nutrition, food security and sanitation and hygiene. The new center aligns with the university’s recently approved strategic plan, Tufts: The Next 10 Years, which calls for deploying Tufts’ considerable intellectual capital to help solve the most pressing issues of our times.
Mkaya Mwamburi, an associate professor of public health and community medicine at the medical school, will direct the center. “We are deeply committed to understanding the diverse factors that lead to inequities between and within populations and high burdens of disease in certain regions,” he says. The center will work directly with communities to develop solutions that are sustainable over time.
The new center will draw on Tufts’ unique constellation of schools: Faculty members from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the Fletcher School, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering will contribute to the center’s efforts.
