Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has appointed Janice Bowie, PhD, MPH, as a Bloomberg Centennial Professor. This is an endowed position made possible by a gift from the Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Bowie is a nationally recognized expert in health disparities and community-based research methods. Through her research, she actively engages community partners to identify strategies to reduce health disparities. Bowie’s work also focuses on the unique association of spirituality and health in prevention and treatment decision making. Bowie is a professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health, Behavior, and Society and core faculty in the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions. She also directs the School’s Doctor of Public Health program.
“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Bowie’s tremendous leadership at the School, both in terms of her stewardship of the Doctor of Public Health program and her focus on critical health issues as a faculty member and researcher,” says Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD, ScM. “We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Bowie on this honor.”
Since Bowie assumed leadership of the Doctor of Public Health program in January 2019, enrollment has nearly tripled to 228 current students. She has shaped the training program to prepare a new generation of leaders to tackle key challenges facing the nation.
“Addressing racial and ethnic health disparities and inequities and conducting research in partnership with communities are both cornerstones of public health today,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Dr. Bowie has made important contributions in these areas throughout her career, in addition to leading an outstanding Doctor of Public Health program, and I congratulate her on her exciting new appointment.”
Before joining Hopkins, Bowie spent over 15 years at Virginia’s Department of Health, where she held several positions, including director of the Division of Chronic Diseases. During her tenure, she oversaw a statewide cardiovascular risk-reduction program supported by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services block grant. She also led the establishment of Virginia’s first Office of Minority Health.
Bowie received her MPH degree in 1986 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She received her PhD in 1997 from the Department of Health Policy and Management at what was then the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
“Dr. Bowie’s deep commitment and leadership on issues of equity inspires and informs students, faculty, and community alike,” says Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. “She is a remarkable public health leader and well deserving of this support.”
This professorship endowment is part of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, which is supporting 25 new endowed positions. The Initiative focuses on addressing major health challenges facing the nation, including obesity and the food system, environmental challenges, addiction, violence, and adolescent health.
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