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Jay A. Pearson, McLain Foundation Associate Professor of Public Policy and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion  

Office Location: 201 Science Drive, SB 211, Box 90245, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90245
Email Address: jay.pearson@duke.edu

Areas of Expertise

  • Health Policy, Health Disparities

Education:
Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2006
MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996
M.P.H., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1996
B.S., North Carolina Central University, 1991

Research Description: Health impact of policy influenced social determinants including racial assignment, ethnic identity formation, immigration/trans-nationalism, social discrimination, socio-economic indicators, social-cultural orientation, and physical embodiment

Teaching (Spring 2025):

  • Univ 101d.001, Let's talk about race Synopsis
    Ffsc 2231, Tu 05:15 PM-06:30 PM
  • Pubpol 816.01, Ethics and policy-making Synopsis
    Sanford 05, TuTh 11:45 AM-01:00 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Pearson, JA. "A Critical Examination of Whiteness as a Fundamental Causal Determinant of US Health Inequities.." American journal of public health 115.2 (February, 2025): 146-148. [doi]
  2. Gonzalez-Guarda, RM; Pearson, J. "Erosion of the Latino Health Advantage in the US.." JAMA health forum 5.10 (October, 2024): e244041. [doi]
  3. Randolph, SD; Gonzalez-Guarda, RM; Pearson, J. "Addressing Systemic Racism and Racialized Violence to Reduce Firearm Injury and Mortality Inequities.." JAMA health forum 5.4 (April, 2024): e241044. [doi]
  4. Brook, D; Pearson, J. "Racial Representation in Durham County Jury List." (June, 2023): 1-89.  [abs]
  5. Walsemann, KM; Pearson, J; Abbruzzi, E. "Education in the Jim Crow South and Black-White inequities in allostatic load among older adults." SSM - Population Health 19 (September, 2022). [doi]  [abs]

Highlight:
Jay A. Pearson’s research, teaching and advocacy address how policy sponsored and structurally rooted social inequality influence the social determination of health disadvantage. A native of Hertford County North Carolina, Pearson’s early experiences in the rural agricultural south shaped and informed his professional interests. Pearson began his public health career as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras where he worked as a child survival health specialist training and evaluating midwives and local health workers.

Upon returning to the U.S. he worked as a health educator with the East Coast Migrant Health Project, later designing and implementing health and safety training for Spanish-speaking factory workers, pesticide safety training with a multi-ethnic farm worker population, and lead poisoning prevention in an impoverished urban community. Pearson served as assistant project director of an NIH-funded research study in which he was responsible for primary data collection in an ethnically diverse Detroit community.

Academically, Pearson moved from a model of individual behavior change in undergraduate studies at North Carolina Central University to one of community assessment and intervention during his masters’ work at the University of North Carolina. While pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, Pearson began to study the social determinants of population health. He is particularly interested in the health effects of conventional and non-conventional resources associated with racial assignment, ethnic identity, national origin, immigration, and cultural orientations.

Bio/Profile
Jay A. Pearson’s research examines how policy sponsored structural inequality influences social determination of health. A native of Hertford County North Carolina, Pearson’s early experiences in the rural agricultural south shaped his academic interests and inform his research agenda. Pearson began his public health career as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras where he worked on child survival. He trained and evaluated midwives and village health workers in nutritional counseling, growth monitoring, oral rehydration therapy and prevention of acute respiratory infections. Upon returning to the U.S. he worked as a health educator with the East Coast Migrant Health Project, later designing and implementing health and safety training for Spanish speaking factory workers, pesticide safety training with a multi-ethnic farm worker population, and lead poisoning prevention in an impoverished urban community. Pearson served as assistant project director of an NIH-funded research study in which he was responsible for primary data collection in an ethnically diverse Detroit community. Academically, Pearson moved from a model of individual behavior change in undergraduate studies at North Carolina Central University to one of community assessment and intervention during his masters’ work at the University of North Carolina. While pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, Pearson began to study the social determinants of population health. He is particularly interested in the health effects of conventional and non-conventional resources associated with racial assignment, ethnic identity, national origin, immigration, and cultural orientations.

Jay A. Pearson