The World Health Organization (WHO) released 13 urgent, global health challenges for the next decade, reflecting a deep concern that world leaders are failing to invest enough resources in core health priorities and systems.

Emory researchers and faculty members are committed to improving the health of individuals and communities at home and throughout the world. They bring extensive knowledge and thorough research in areas that affect people’s everyday health, as well as emerging threats.  

Emory faculty working at the forefront of the WHO’s list of health challenges from 2020 to 2030 include the following: 

1. Elevating health in the climate debate

• Noah Scovronick, PhD, assistant professor, Rollins School of Public Health
  • links between human health, climate change and climate policy
• Stefanie Ebelt, ScD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
  • cardiovascular and respiratory effects of ambient air quality
• Yang Liu, PhD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
  • general impacts of climate change on human health
  • remote and satellite sensing of climate change and air quality

2. Delivering health in conflict and crisis

• Soroosh Behshad, MD, MPH, assistant professor, School of Medicine
  • provided eye care for refugees in Jordan
• Natalie Weil, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine
  • provided eye care for refugees in Jordan 

3. Making health care fairer

• Mohammed Ali, MBChB, MSc, MBA, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
  • economic burden of diabetes
• Carol Hogue, PhD, MPH, emeritus professor, Rollins School of Public Health
  • maternal and child health 

4. Expanding access to medicines

• Ken Thorpe, PhD, chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health
• David Howard, PhD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health

5. Stopping infectious diseases

HIV

• Wendy Armstrong, MD, professor, School of Medicine
• Carlos del Rio, MD, associate dean, School of Medicine

TB

• Henry Blumberg, MD, professor, School of Medicine

Ebola

• Colleen Kraft, MD, associate professor, School of Medicine
• Aneesh Mehta, MD, associate professor, School of Medicine
• Sharon Vanairsdale, MS, APRN, program director, Emory Serious Communicable Diseases Unit

Hepatitis C

• Preeti Reshamwala, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine
  
• Anne Spaulding, MD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
• Patrick Sullivan, PhD, DVM, professor, Rollins School of Public Health 

STDs

• Kimberly Workowski, MD, professor, School of Medicine 

Measles

• Walter Orenstein, MD, associate director, Emory Vaccine Center
  
• Jeffrey Koplan, MD, MPH, vice president, Emory Global Health Institute

Flu

• Rafi Ahmed, PhD, director, Emory Vaccine Center
• Walter Orenstein, MD, associate director, Emory Vaccine Center
• Nadine Rouphael, MD, associate professor, School of Medicine

Polio

• Walter Orenstein, MD, associate director, Emory Vaccine Center

6. Preparing for epidemics

• Ruth Berkelman, MD, professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness in Rollins
• Allison Chamberlain, PhD, research assistant professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness in Rollins

Mosquito-Borne Virus Infections

• Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, PhD, associate professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
• Matthew Collins, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine
• Stephanie Pouch, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine

Ebola

• Colleen Kraft, MD, associate professor, School of Medicine
• Aneesh Mehta, MD, associate professor, School of Medicin
• Sharon Vanairsdale, MS, APRN, program director, Emory Serious Communicable Diseases Unit

7. Protecting people from dangerous products 

Diet-Related Diseases

• Mary Beth Weber, PhD, MPH, assistant professor, Rollins School of Public Health

Vaping

• Gabriel Sica, MD, PhD, lung pathologist, Winship Cancer Institute
• Jim Curran, MD, MPH, dean, Rollins School of Public Health

8. Investing in the people who defend our health

• Sharon Pappas, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, chief nurse executive, Emory Healthcare

9. Keeping adolescents safe

STDs

• Kimberly Workowski, MD, professor, School of Medicine

Vaping

• Gabriel Sica, MD, PhD, lung pathologist, Winship Cancer Institute
• Jim Curran, MD, MPH, dean, Rollins School of Public Health

Mental Health

• Justine Welsh, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine

Substance Abuse

• Janet Cummings, PhD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health 

10. Earning public trust

Anti-vaccination

• Walter Orenstein, MD, associate director, Emory Vaccine Center
• Jeffrey Koplan, MD, MPH, vice president, Emory Global Health Institute 

11. Harnessing new technologies

• Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, associate professor, School of Medicine
• Gari Clifford, DPhil, chair, Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine
• Timothy Buchman, MD, PhD, professor, School of Medicine

12. Protecting the medicines that protect us

Antibiotic Resistance

• David Weiss, PhD, director, Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center
• Monica Farley, MD, director, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine
• James Hughes, MD, professor, School of Medicine

13. Keeping health care clean

Emory Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

• Eugene Gangarosa, MD, professor emeritus, Rollins School of Public Health
  
• Juan Leon, PhD, MPH, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health