Dane Emmerling

Dane Emmerling, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. His work focuses on teaching and research in critical consciousness raising interventions, evaluating systemic inequities, and fostering social justice through education. He holds a PhD in Health Behavior (2022), an MPH in Health Behavior (2013), and a BS in Biochemistry (NC State University, 2008).

His research evaluates antiracism training impacts (e.g., collaboration with the Racial Equity Institute), experiential education pedagogy, and global health systems. Notable projects include qualitative studies on structural racism training outcomes and systems-mapping approaches to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Awards include multiple grants from the Center for Study of the American South (2020-2021), a Community Engagement Fellowship (2020), and Seed Grant for participatory research. Dane teaches core courses like HBEH 815 (Theoretical Foundations) and SPHG 352 (Systems & Solutions).

His work bridges academia and community through partnerships like the Racial Equity Institute and North Carolina’s trauma-informed social accelerators. Research emphasizes participatory evaluation methods and systemic change strategies.