Carl Kendall

Carl Kendall is a Professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a focus on the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences. He also holds a Visiting Professor position at the Federal University of Ceará’s School of Medicine in Brazil, reflecting his deep engagement in international public health research.

• PhD in Social Anthropology, University of Rochester
• MA in Social Anthropology, University of Rochester
• BA in Anthropology and Sociology, Swarthmore College
• NIMH Post-Doctoral Fellow, Medical Anthropology and Public Health, Michigan State University

Dr. Kendall’s research centers on medical anthropology and the social determinants of health, particularly in Latin America and Brazil. His work explores health disparities, disease burden, and the socioeconomic roots of illness, with a strong emphasis on vulnerable populations including adolescents, female sex workers, and incarcerated individuals. He employs qualitative, mixed, and formal methods such as respondent-driven sampling and social network analysis.

His recent publications reflect a strong focus on infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis, Zika, leprosy, and COVID-19, primarily in Brazilian contexts. The studies often involve marginalized groups like men who have sex with men (MSM), female prisoners, and adolescents, highlighting structural barriers to health access and prevention. Themes include behavioral risk, public health policy, intervention design, and surveillance methods in hard-to-reach populations.

• Fulbright Senior Fellow
• CNPq Senior Researcher
• Distinction in Research Awards, Tulane University (2002–2007)
• Member, Institute of Medicine, Board of Global Health (1994–2007)
• Member, Border Health Research Advisory Group, U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission (2007–2008)
• Science without Frontiers award from the Brazilian government (2013–2018)

Dr. Kendall has secured major international grants and collaborations, notably through the Science without Frontiers program, to train Brazilian students and foster academic exchange between Brazil and Tulane. He has advised numerous research projects and mentored students in public health methodologies. His leadership includes founding the Center for International Community-Based Health Research at Johns Hopkins and serving as acting chair of his department at Tulane. He has also contributed to national and international policy through panels at the Institute of Medicine.

His ongoing work includes collaborative research teams in Fortaleza and Recife, Brazil, focusing on emerging diseases and intervention strategies that integrate anthropological insights. These efforts include projects on adolescent MSM uptake of PrEP/PEP, trafficking among underage female sex workers, and social network analysis of leprosy transmission. His lab operates through cross-institutional partnerships with Brazilian universities and public health agencies.