Cynthia Whitney

Cynthia Whitney is a Research Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University. Her work focuses on global health, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, epidemiology, and vaccine impact evaluation. She holds a BSc from Iowa State University, an MD from the University of Minnesota, and an MPH from Harvard University.

Her research interests include understanding causes of child mortality in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly through initiatives like the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network. She investigates vaccine effectiveness, bacterial pathogens (e.g., Streptococcus pneumoniae), and postmortem diagnostic methods to identify preventable causes of death. Recent work emphasizes neonatal readmission risk assessment, cytomegalovirus (CMV) in stillbirths, and malnutrition’s role in mortality.

Her publications analyze vaccine impact (e.g., PCV10, PCV13) on respiratory infections, meningitis, and otitis media in diverse settings. She also examines healthcare system challenges in LMICs, including adherence to clinical guidelines and pandemic responses.

Dr. Whitney collaborates on large-scale studies like CHAMPS, which employs postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) to identify causes of child deaths. Her work bridges epidemiology, clinical practice, and public health policy to reduce preventable mortality globally.