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Debbie Humphries, PhD, MPH, MA

Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases)
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Additional Titles

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

About

Titles

Associate Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases)

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Biography

Since 1996 I have worked and partnered with public health systems and service organizations to strengthen service delivery. I have also taught, advised and conducted research at the Yale School of Public Health, working closely with hundreds of MPH students as they conducted applied public health practice projects in collaboration with public health systems and organizations. Many of my research projects have also been at the community level, where I provide expertise in engagement, relationship building and knowledge generation. I have broad expertise in community health systems and applied public health research and teaching, as well as skills in strategic thinking, mentoring and communication.

Beginning in 2024 I co-lead the Rigorous, Rapid and Relevant Evidence aDaptation and Implementation (R3EDI) to Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Implementation Science Technical Assistance Hub. We provide implementation science technical support and resources for researchers and practitioners working in the area of HIV implementation science in the United States.

In addition to my implementation science work I also address interactions between nutrition and infectious disease. Over the last 18 years I have collaborated with Dr. Michael Cappello and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana on longitudinal studies characterizing parasite and host factors affecting response to deworming in Ghana.

Last Updated on December 08, 2025.

Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

MA
Hartford Seminary, Transformative Leadership and Spirituality (2021)
PhD
Cornell University (1996)
MPH
University of Michigan/Ann Arbor (1992)

Research

Overview

Dr. Humphries has a broad background in public health practice. She has consulting expertise in the areas of diet and physical activity behavior change, sustainability of community health programs, program monitoring and evaluation, and training in participatory monitoring and evaluation.

Dr. Humphries has research experience in relationships between nutritional deficiencies and infectious disease in resource-poor environments. She is interested in interdisciplinary research on nutrition, immune function, and disease.


Engaging with students in the classroom, on theses and internships provides Dr. Humphries with valuable insights and the opportunity to investigate different perspectives and approaches. She has supported students in conducting research in topics as varied as mapping access to health centers in Burkina Faso, developing a game for teaching communities about malaria transmission, mapping access to food and cigarettes in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and policy approaches to reducing the diabetes impact in India. She enjoys experimenting in the classroom with pedagogical methods that combine academic concepts with practical experience.

Relationship between hookworm infection, response to treatment, and nutritional status in school children in Ghana; measures of research capacity for community based organizations; impact of public health resource sharing on service cost and quality in Connecticut and Massachusetts

Medical Research Interests

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Developing Countries; Ghana; Global Health; HIV; Hookworm Infections; Malaria; Nutrition Policy; Parasitology; Public Health; Vietnam

Public Health Interests

Community Health; Global Health; Health Care Management; HIV/AIDS; Infectious Diseases; Malaria; Nutrition; Parasitology; Community Engagement; Health Equity, Disparities, Social Determinants and Justice

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Debbie Humphries's published research.

Publications

2025

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Activities

  • activity

    American Society for Nutrition - Global Nutrition Council

  • activity

    YSPH Sustainability Committee

  • activity

    YSPH Practicum Advisory Committee

  • activity

    Supervision of Student Research

  • activity

    AIDS Project New Haven

Honors

  • honor

    Hartranft Award

  • honor

    C.E.A. Winslow Award

Get In Touch

Contacts

Locations

  • 135 College Street

    Academic Office

    Ste 200, Rm 234

    New Haven, CT 06510