We are honored and delighted to congratulate Professor , CID Faculty Affiliate and Faculty Advisory Council member, for winning the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” this past Tuesday, September 28th, 2021. Marcella is an economist, physician, and public health specialist, and a professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Marcella uses her interdisciplinary background to examine how the legacies of racism have perpetuated health inequalities along racial lines today. This well-deserved award is a symbol of years of diligent, influential, and crucial research.
The MacArthur Fellowship includes a “no-strings-attached” $625,000 grant. The foundation describes the fellowship “as not a lifetime achievement award, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.” The award enables recipients “to exercise their own creative instincts for the benefit of human society.”
Marcella’s most recent publication, “The Great Unequalizer: Initial Health Effects of COVID-19 in the United States,” looks at the health inequalities resulting from Covid-19. She reviewed mortality and hospitalization rates in the US, to find that Hispanic, Black, and Native American communities were disproportionately affected by the virus. This groundbreaking research, her other influential work, and her persistence to find answers to some of the world’s most pressing problems encapsulate CID’s mission of building a thriving world for all. We are proud and grateful to have Marcella representing and supporting CID and we are excited to see what she does next.