Derek Griffith has been named the Risa Lavizzo-Mourey Population Health and Health Equity University Professor in the School of Nursing and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The announcement was made by Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson Jr.
Griffith is an innovator in the study of health equity, especially the social, economic, and political factors that impact the health of Black and Latino men. He develops new policy strategies to promote better health outcomes and health equity, especially through community-based, individually tailored, and precision lifestyle interventions that aim to prevent and control obesity and chronic diseases in middle-aged Black men. His research focuses in particular on the links between health and conceptions of masculinity among men of color, the influence of stress and coping processes on health disparities, and the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other variables in shaping men’s health behaviors and outcomes.
“Through In Principle and Practice, Penn’s strategic framework, we have targeted health as one of the great challenges and opportunities of our time,” Jameson said. “There can be no better time for an interdisciplinary scholar of Professor Griffith’s stature to join our pioneering efforts. His singular focus on translating fresh scholarship to meaningful policy aligns perfectly with Penn’s inventive and engaged ethos.”
Griffith is an author of almost 200 articles and book chapters and a co-editor of “Health Promotion with Adolescent Boys and Young Men of Colour” (Springer, 2023), “Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional” (American Public Health Association Press, 2019), and “Men’s Health Equity: A Handbook” (Routledge, 2019). He serves as chair of Global Action on Men’s Health, which advances education, advocacy, and research on men’s health around the world. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among numerous others. He comes to Penn from Georgetown University where he was professor of health management and policy in the School of Health, founder and director of the Center for Men’s Health Equity, and co-director of the Racial Justice Institute following earlier faculty appointments at Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received a Ph.D. and M.A. in clinical psychology from DePaul University and a B.A. in psychology and Afro-American studies from the University of Maryland at College Park.
“Our strongest shared commitment at Penn,” Jackson said, “is to make people’s lives better through the impact of innovative research. Derek Griffith’s work embodies this mission, improving health and advancing health equity for communities across the country and around the world. We are deeply grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for supporting this transformational research and honoring the pioneering legacy of Risa Lavizzo-Mourey at both of our institutions.”
The Penn Integrates Knowledge program is a University-wide initiative to recruit exceptional faculty members whose research and teaching exemplify the integration of knowledge across disciplines and who are appointed in at least two schools at Penn.
The Risa Lavizzo-Mourey Population Health and Health Equity Professorship is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in honor of Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, who served as president and CEO of the Foundation in 2003-17 and then as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Population Health and Health Equity University Professor at Penn from 2018 until her retirement in 2021.
“Professor Griffith’s trailblazing health equity research illuminates persistent structural barriers to health for Black and Latino men,” said Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “His community-driven policy strategies and steadfast leadership at Penn will help chart a path forward to a future where health is no longer a privilege for some but a right for all.”
