Faculty Profile

Darrell Hudson

Darrell Hudson, PhD, MPH

  • Professor and Department Chair, Health Behavior and Health Equity

Darrell Hudson, PhD, MPH is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Prior to his appointment at Michigan, he was Professor of Public Health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and Director for the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity at Washington University. Dr. Hudson’s career is dedicated to the elimination of racial/ethnic inequities in health. His research agenda centers on how social determinants of health, particularly racism, affect multiple health outcomes. Dr. Hudson is also striving to develop researchers and professionals who are both well trained and passionate about achieving health equity.

Dr. Hudson’s published research includes studies that have examined racial/ethnic differences in depression, including the effects of socioeconomic position, racial discrimination, and coping behaviors on depression. His current work focuses on the investigation of how the process of upward social mobility affects the health and well-being of Black Americans. He is also investigating the integration of mental and physical health using a life course, stress framework. Dr. Hudson has been awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Foundation for Barnes Jewish Hospital, and the Missouri Foundation for Health. Currently, his research is supported by the National Institute on Aging, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. Hudson completed his doctoral studies at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where he also received his MPH. He earned a BA in Psychology from Morehouse College. Prior to his faculty appointment, Dr. Hudson completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Kellogg Health Scholars Program at the University of California at the San Francisco and Berkeley campuses.

  • PhD, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan
  • MPH, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan
  • BA, Morehouse College

  • Sun, S. Chiang, C., Hudson, D.L. (2024). Racial/Ethnic differences in the association between parental wealth and child behavioral problems. Children & Youth Services Review, 163, 107648.
    Saelee R, Bullard KM, Wittman JT, Alexander DS, Hudson D. State-Level Household Energy Insecurity and Diabetes Prevalence Among US Adults, 2020. Prev Chronic Dis 2024;21:240087. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd21.240087 
  • Babulal, G.M., Zhu, Y, Roe, C., Hudson, D.L., Williams, M.M., Murphy, S., Doherty, J., Walker, & Trani, J.F. (2022). The complex relationship between depression and progression to incident cognitive impairment across race and ethnicity. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 18(12), 2593- 2602. PMCID: PMC9402798. doi: 10.1002/alz.12631. 
  • Hudson, D.L(2021). Achieving Health Equity by Addressing Legacies of Racial Violence in Public Health Practice. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 494, 59-66. 
  • Hudson, D.L., Sacks, T. A., Sewell, W.,* Holland, D.* Gordon, J.* (2020). Surviving the White Space: Perspectives on How Middle Class Black Men Navigate Cultural Racism. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44, 2513-2531. 
  • Hudson, D.L(2021). Achieving Health Equity by Addressing Legacies of Racial Violence in Public Health Practice. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 494, 59-66.

Email: [email protected] 
Phone: 734-763-7031
Address: 3790 SPH I
1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

For media inquiries: [email protected] 

Areas of Expertise: Aging,  Health Equity,  Mental Health