Emory alumna Julie Livingston has been named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. Livingston graduated from Emory's History Ph.D. program in 2001, and was part of the Institute of African Studies, a leading center for the interdisciplinary study of Africa.

She is currently a professor of history at Rutgers University.  

As a public health historian and anthropologist, Livingston combines archival research and ethnographic observation to illuminate largely ignored crises of care in both the developing and developed world. In her work, she has been exploring the care and treatment of chronic illness and debilitating ailments in Botswana. 

The MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a "genius grant," is a $625,000, no-strings-attached award for individuals who have shown exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more.

Lisa Tedesco, dean of the Laney Graduate School, says, "We are so very pleased for Julie and for the well-deserved recognition bestowed by the MacArthur Foundation. Her cutting-edge work represents the essential contributions made through  interdisciplinary research and commitments to improving well-being and health on a global scale.  

"Julie's work demonstrates the importance of graduate education and is an example of how faculty work across disciplines to prepare scholar leaders in the Laney Graduate School."