Dustin T. Duncan, Director
Dustin T. Duncan, ScD is Associate Dean for Health Equity Research and Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr. Dustin T. Duncan is an internationally recognized academic leader and equity strategist. He creates and leads initiatives to rearchitect research systems, faculty development, and university design, operationalizing justice-centered higher education scholarship within academic institutions. His work reshapes organizational structure, power distribution, and production infrastructure for greater equity-centered outcomes. He is widely regarded transformative leader at the intersection of public health, equity, and higher education strategy.
His frameworks include the Health Equity Research Production Model, a redesign of research and governance infrastructures and incentive systems to enable equitable knowledge production at scale; The Step-Up Mentorship Model, which combines intentional sponsorship, structured skill-building, and progressive leadership opportunities to accelerate the success and visibility of early-career scholars, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds; and writing accountability strategies, currently being instituted throughout Columbia University in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement.
Author of several books and more than 300 other publications, Dr. Duncan is Associate Dean for Health Equity Research and Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University, a social epidemiologist with a specialization in spatial, trauma-informed, and mobility-based approaches to health equity. He is the founder of the Dustin Duncan Research Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to advance health equity research, leadership development, and community partnerships. Fluent in Swahili, Dr. Duncan also advances purpose-driven research and global health partnerships and equity across East Africa.
A National Institutes of Health fellow at Morehouse College in his early 20s, Dr. Duncan entered Harvard University at age 21, completed postdoctoral training at Harvard and the University of Oxford, was appointed professor at New York University before the age of 30, and earned tenure at Columbia before 40. He was promoted to the rank of Full Professor at age 40, becoming the first Black male tenured full professor in his department. He is currently engaged in legal systems training to further deepen his understanding of governance and institutional accountability.
Dr. Duncan’s long-term vision is for universities to be globally connected, structurally sound, and designed to cultivate both excellence and belonging at scale.
Jessica Contreras, Program Manager
Jessica Contreras, BA (she/her) serves as the Research Director for Columbia Spatial Epi Lab. She has dedicated 20 years to implementing gender-affirming medical service programs in New York City. Ms. Contreras brings specialized expertise in recruitment and engagement of transgender populations, public health research, and HIV prevention and sexual and gender minority health. She previously served as Program Coordinator II for TURNNT (R01MD013554), a cohort study examining social and environmental factors affecting the health and well-being of transgender women of color (n=314). As her result of her leadership in the TURNNT Study, more than 10 manuscripts have been published.
She also led efforts that transformed six clinics into transgender-friendly hubs through staff training and community support groups, with her approach informing institutional standards of care. She co-created and implemented ‘TL Teach Back’, an evidence-informed intervention that focused on enhancing engagement and retention in quality HIV care among transgender women of color.
She currently serves as Research Director, providing scientific and operational leadership across the lab’s research portfolio, including leading the Black Professors Study and Project CLEAR, overseeing study implementation, research strategy, data and team coordination, and development of research products.
Jenesis Merriman, Program Coordinator
Jenesis Merriman, MPH (he/they) is the Program Manager in the Spatial Epidemiology Lab at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he earned his bachelor’s degree in public health from UC Berkeley and his Master of Public Health from Columbia University. Over the past several years, Jenesis has worked across HIV prevention, LGBTQ+ health, and community-engaged public health research. As a queer person of color, his research interests center on transgender health equity, with a particular focus on the social and structural factors that shape health, including social support, discrimination, neighborhoods, and access to gender-affirming care. As Program Manager, Jenesis oversees research operations across multiple NIH-funded studies, including project management, grant coordination, regulatory compliance, and collaborations with academic and community partners. He also leads the lab's manuscript development process and writing group program, coordinates data sharing and multi-site collaborations, and manages international partnerships and research activities in East Africa.
