Leandris  Liburd

Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA is a medical anthropologist and public health educator who has practiced public health at the local, state, and federal levels. She has extensive experience in community health promotion, chronic disease prevention, community engagement, reducing health disparities, and the social determinants of health. Dr. Liburd’s federal experience has been at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she currently serves as Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity. Her research interests include community-based participatory research; cultural analyses of obesity and type 2 diabetes; racial and ethnic health inequities; and evaluation research. Dr. Liburd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior/Health Education from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology and Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Anthropology from Emory University. Her publications are focused on community-based public health approaches to chronic disease prevention and control, the influence of culture and gender on health beliefs and behaviors, and racial and ethnic health disparities. Her first edited volume, “Diabetes and Health Disparities: Community-based approaches for racial and ethnic populations” is a key resource for students and public health workers interested in socio-ecological approaches to reducing diabetes disparities.