Richard Oberhelman

Richard Oberhelman is the Associate Dean for Global Health and a Professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University's School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. He is affiliated with the Stone Center for Latin American Studies as an Affiliated Faculty member. His research focuses on Tropical Medicine, Pediatric Health, Tuberculosis, and Gastrointestinal Infections in Children. He holds an M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (1981) and a B.A. in Spanish from Rice University (1977).

His work spans tropical disease research, with notable contributions to pediatric infections and innovative diagnostic methods. Recent studies include evaluating treatments for gastrointestinal infections in children and developing low-cost 3D-printed diagnostic tools for tuberculosis. He has also explored long-term effects of preterm birth on adult health and cervical cancer prevention strategies.

• Distinctions:
  • Columbia University Faculty Mentoring Award (2019-2020)
  • Alan Merriam Book Prize (2015)
  • Multiple honorary professorships in Latin American universities

As a mentor, he supervised 3 theses/dissertations in the past five years. He leads major grants like the Inter-American Training Program for Innovations in Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATIEID) and the Tulane-Xavier Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) Grant. His overseas experience includes work in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico, China, and Cambodia.

He also serves as a clinical consultant in pediatric infectious diseases at several New Orleans hospitals and is fluent in Spanish and French.