Manish Kumar

Manish Kumar, MPH, PhD, is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice and the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health. He currently leads the Global Health Finance Data team at Guidehouse, Inc., focusing on strategic data-driven solutions for health systems strengthening and digital health. His prior roles include Technical Lead at the Carolina Population Center and Principal Investigator for USAID-funded projects.

Education: PhD (ABD) in Health Informatics from the Carolina Health Informatics Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; MPH in Public Health Leadership (specializing in public health informatics); MSc degrees from Wageningen University (Netherlands) and Pant University (India).

Research interests include health information systems, digital health maturity models, and implementation science. He has contributed to global initiatives such as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and malaria surveillance systems.

Awards include the Rotary Peace Fellowship (2013-2015), Delta Omega Service Award (2015), and induction into the Frank Porter Graham Graduate Honor Society. His work emphasizes health equity, data utilization, and evidence-based decision-making in low-resource settings.