People

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.

Principal Investigator, Cannabis Use, PrEP and HIV Transmission Risk. Active

Principal Investigator, Characterizing Sleep, ART Adherence and Viral Suppression Among Black Sexual Minority Men. Active

Principal Investigator, Social Network and Technology-Driven Health Equity Research in NYC. Active

Principal Investigator, Activity Space Neighborhoods, Drug Use and HIV Among Black MSM in the Jackson, MS MSA. Completed

Principal Investigator, Feasibility Assessment of Real-Time Geospatial Methods to Explore Social and Spatial Contexts of Substance Use and HIV Risk in YMSM. Completed

Principal Investigator, Formative Research on How to Deliver Alcohol Interventions in the Context of HIV Prevention and Care among Black Sexual Minority Men. Completed

Principal Investigator, Health App Use among Verizon Users. Completed

Principal Investigator, Impact of Neighborhoods and Networks on HIV Prevention and Care Behaviors Among Black MSM in the Deep South. Completed

Principal Investigator, Impact of Social Cohesion and Social Capital in PrEP Uptake and Adherence Among Transwomen of Color. Completed

Principal Investigator, MyPEEPs Mobile LITE: Limited Interaction Efficacy Trial of MyPeeps Mobile to Reduce HIV Incidence and Better Understand the Epidemiology of HIV among YMSM. Completed

Principal Investigator, Neighborhood Activity Space, Drugs and HIV Risk Among Black MSM in the Deep South. Completed

Principal Investigator, Neighborhoods, Mobility and HIV Among Young MSM. Completed

Principal Investigator, PrEP Uptake and Adherence among Young Black MSM: Neighborhood and Network Determinants. Completed

Principal Investigator, Promoting Social Capital for Increased HIV Prevention and Care Among Sexual Minority Men in Nairobi, Kenya. Completed

Furuya A, Merriman J, Houghton L, Benoit E, Whalen A, Radix A, Contreras J, Herrera C, Lim S, Trinh-Shevrin C, Duncan DT (2026).
Health equity and medical mistrust: A mixed-methods analysis of medical and social determinants among transgender women of colour in the TURNNT cohort study
Culture Health and Sexuality [Epub 2026 Jan 5]. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2025.2581739.

Min SH, Scroggins JK, Duncan DT, Garofalo R, Janulis PF, Kuhns L, Xiao F, Schnall R (2026).
Identifying hidden barriers to PrEP adherence among young men who have sex with men: Application of natural language processing
AIDS and Behavior, 30 (1), 253-262. doi: 10.1007/s10461-025-04863-z. PMCID: PMC12443337.

Chen YT, Knox J, Almirol E, Wiger ER, Pagkas-Bather J, Huh J, Chung T, English D, Duncan DT, Schneider JA (2026).
Cannabis and alcohol co-use and HIV biomedical intervention engagement among Black sexual/gender minority people: A day-level analysis
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 70 (1), 108144. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108144.

McInerney S, Veihman P, Brin M, Jimenez J, Garofalo R, Duncan DT, Kuhns LM, Almodovar M, Janulis P, Schnall R (2025).
Awareness and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis in a United States national sample of young sexual and gender minority men
AIDS Care [Epub 2025 Nov 13]. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2025.2584598.

Merriman J, Dharma C, Park SH, Joiner A, Scheinmann R, Watson K, Herrera C, Schneider JA, Lim S, Trinh-Shevrin C, Radix A, Duncan DT (2025).
Perceived access to gender-affirming care, completion of gender-affirming medical interventions, and psychological distress among transgender women of color: The TURNNT Cohort Study
American Journal of Epidemiology, 194 (11), 3306-3315. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwaf136. PMCID: PMC12634113.