Marcella Nunez-Smith

Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith is a renowned physician and public health expert, recognized for her work in addressing health disparities, particularly among marginalized communities. She is a Professor of Internal Medicine, Public Health, and Management at Yale University, where she also serves as the Associate Dean for Health Equity Research. In 2020, she gained national recognition when President Joe Biden appointed her to co-chair the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Her leadership was instrumental in identifying and addressing the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color.

Previously, Dr. Nunez-Smith co-chaired the Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board and was community committee chair for the governor’s ReOpen Connecticut Advisory Group. As the principal investigator on multiple NIH and foundation-funded research projects, including an NIH-backed initiative to develop a tool for assessing patient-reported experiences of discrimination in healthcare, she has led pivotal research into the promotion and retention of diversity within academic medical school faculty. Her work has also resulted in numerous publications exploring the experiences of minority students and faculty, contributing significantly to the understanding and advancement of diversity in medical education and practice.

Dr. Nunez-Smith also helps manage or direct other Yale programs or institutions, including the Center for Research Engagement, Yale Cancer Center, and the Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership.

An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Nunez-Smith attended Jefferson Medical College and earned a BA in Biological Anthropology and Psychology at Swarthmore College. Board certified in internal medicine, she completed her residency at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and fellowship at the Yale Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program.