Shiriki Kumanyika is Professor Emerita of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School Of Medicine. She has an interdisciplinary background and holds advanced degrees in social work, nutrition, and public health.
Professor Kumanyika’s research focuses on identifying effective strategies to reduce nutrition-related chronic disease risks, with a particular focus on achieving health equity for black Americans. Professor Kumanyika has led or collaborated on single- or multi-center randomised clinical trials or observational studies related to obesity, salt intake, and other aspects of diet. Several of these studies have evaluated interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity in African American children or adults in clinical or community-based settings.
She founded and continues to chair the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN). She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) and is a Past-President of the American Public Health Association. She has extensive experience in advisory roles related to public health and nutrition policy in the US and abroad.