Leading Global Health Scholar Advancing Infectious Disease Research and Health Equity
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Harvard UniversityMarcia Caldas de Castro, born in 1964, has transformed our understanding of infectious diseases and global health through her pioneering work in spatial epidemiology and demography. After earning her degree in Statistics from Rio de Janeiro State University and PhD in Demography from Princeton University, she made history as the first Brazilian woman to become a Harvard faculty member. As Andelot Professor of Demography and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, she combines statistical expertise with field research to study malaria and other vector-borne diseases, particularly in Brazil, Tanzania, and Ghana. Her groundbreaking work includes reducing malaria infections by 21% in Dar es Salaam through larvicide intervention, while her research on deforestation's impact on disease transmission has influenced public health policy. Through her leadership roles at Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, she continues to shape global health policy while advocating for health equity and environmental protection in Brazil and beyond.