Thomas LaVeist

By Kenna Lowe
School of Public Health

Thomas A. LaVeist, a professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management and director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, received the first Minority Health Knowledge Award from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It was presented at the National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, held Jan. 10 in Washington, D.C.

The award, to be given annually, recognizes recipients whose work advances knowledge about minority health and the elimination of health disparities and also has led to or inspired others to contribute to the body of knowledge needed to close the minority health gap.

LaVeist focuses his research on social and behavioral factors that predict the occurrence of various health-related outcomes and that explain race differences in health outcomes. In addition, he looks at the impact of social policy on the health and quality of life of African-Americans. He consults often with policy-makers regarding health disparities and is developing policy and interventions to address race disparities in health-related outcomes.

He authored more than 30 articles in the last five years alone and in 2005 published the first textbook on minority health and health disparities, titled Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States.

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