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Manoj Mohanan appointed Duke vice provost for interdisciplinary programs
Mumbai-trained physician turned health economist to assume senior academic leadership role from July 1.
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Ankita Baidya - Thu, 25, Jun 2026
- 05:38 EDT
- 27
Manoj Mohanan, Creed C. Black Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, will assume the role of vice provost for interdisciplinary programs. / Duke, Office of Provost
Manoj Mohanan, a Mumbai-trained physician turned health economist, has been appointed vice provost for interdisciplinary programs at Duke University, Provost Alec D. Gallimore announced on Jun. 23.
The appointment, effective July 1, places the Indian-origin scholar in one of the university’s most senior academic leadership positions.
Mohanan is the Creed C. Black Professor of Public Policy at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, where he has also served as interim dean since 2024. He holds additional faculty appointments in economics and global health. He joined the Sanford faculty in 2011.
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His academic trajectory spans India and leading global institutions. After earning a medical degree from the University of Mumbai, Mohanan left clinical medicine to pursue graduate study at Harvard University. He earned a master’s degree in public health from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Ph.D. in health policy, specializing in economics, through Harvard’s interfaculty graduate program.
An applied microeconomist, Mohanan’s research focuses on health and healthcare in developing countries, with several ongoing projects in India. He is the principal investigator for a six-year National Institutes of Health-funded longitudinal study examining the impact of COVID-19 on child health in India. He has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Gates Foundation, and the World Bank, and has advised the Wellcome Trust and the World Bank on public health issues.
“Duke has been my intellectual home for 17 years, and I have benefited enormously from the interdisciplinary environment built by previous generations of Duke faculty and leaders,” Mohanan said in a statement.
In his new role, Mohanan will report to the provost and oversee Duke’s 11 university-wide interdisciplinary institutes, initiatives, and centers. He will also supervise Bass Connections, a flagship program that places graduate and undergraduate students in faculty-led research teams addressing global and local challenges.
Gallimore described Mohanan as “a natural connector,” adding that his “creativity, energy, and collegial spirit will build bridges across this university.” In 2025, Times Higher Education ranked Duke sixth globally for interdisciplinary science among 911 institutions across 94 countries.
Mohanan succeeds Ed Balleisen, who held the role since 2015 and has been named provost of George Washington University.
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