Associate Professor of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies
Prior to joining Northeastern Dr. Richard Wamai was a research fellow in the Takemi Program in International Health at Harvard School of Public Health. Before that, Dr. Wamai was a researcher at Oxford University (UK) Department of Social Policy. His previous work experience spans a number of other institutions including the London School of Economics, the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Institute for Public Policy, the World Bank, the Nordic-Africa Institute in Uppsala Sweden, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya. His research areas are: HIV/AIDS, focusing on male circumcision for HIV prevention, cost-effectiveness and policy in Africa; neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Kenya; human papillomavirus in Africa; and health systems and policy. At Northeastern, with professor Pollastri, Dr. Wamai co-leads the Integrated Initiative for Global Health to champion global health efforts at the university. In Kenya Dr. Wamai has opened The Research on Multi-Disease and Educational Services (TERMES) Center to accelerate his work on neglected diseases.
- 2013: Kenyan Diaspora Shujaa Award [Recognized as ‘hero’ “for continued and extensive global research on HIV/AIDS” on the occasion of Kenya’s national holiday “Mashujaa [Heroes] Day”.]. The New England Kenya Welfare Association (NEKWA) (October 20)
- 2013: Voted ‘Northeastern Favorite Faculty’ by the 2013 graduated Senior Class, Cauldron Yearbook at Northeastern, 2013.
- 2012- 2012: World AIDS Day Unsung Hero Award Winner, Blood:Water Mission (November 30, 2012).
- 2012: Distinguished Faculty Award, John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute (April 20)
- Osetinsky B, Hontelez JA, Lurie M, McGarvey S, Bloomfield G, Pastakia S, Wamai RG, Bärnighausen T, de Vlas S, Galarraga O. Epidemiological and health systems implications of evolving HIV and hypertension in South Africa and Kenya [a mathematical modeling study]. Public Health Affairs 2019;38(7): 1173–1181
- Bautista-Arredondo S, Sosa-Rubi SG, Opuni M, Contreras-Loya D, La Hera-Fuentes G, Kwan A, Chaumont C, Chompolola A, Condo J, Dzekedzeke K, Galárraga O, Martinson N, Masiye F, Nsanzimana S, Wamai RG, Wang’ombe J, on behalf of the ORPHEA study team. Influence of supply-side factors on voluntary medical male circumcision unit costs in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia. PLoS ONE 2018;13(9): e0203121.
- Kengne AP, Wamai RG, Levitt N. Special issue from a national survey on NCD risk factors in Kenya. BMC Public Health 2018 18(Suppl 3)
- Morris BJ, Wamai RG, Henebeng EB*, Tobian AAR, Klausner JD, Hankins CA. Estimation of country-specific and global prevalence of male circumcision. Population Health Metrics 2016;14:4.
Other Publications
-
Education
Post Doc, 2008
Harvard University School of Public Health
PhD, 2004
University of Helsinki
BA, 1994
Egerton University -
Contact
617.373.4130 r.wamai@northeastern.edu -
Address
220G RP
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 -
Dialogues
-
Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases & Health Disparities in the African Diaspora
AFRS 3424
Examines the epidemiology and determinants of diseases and the public health practice among continental African peoples and African-derived populations in the Americas and elsewhere in the African Diaspora.
-
Introduction to Global Health
AFRS 1270
Introduces global health in the context of an interdependent and globalized world focusing on four main areas of analysis: infrastructure of global health; diseases; populations; and terms, concepts, and theories. While the focus is on lower-income countries, the course examines issues in a broader global context, underscoring the interconnections between global health disparities and global health policy response.