Madhuvanti (Maddy) Murphy

Madhuvanti (Maddy) Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Research Methods at the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre (GACDRC) of CAIHR. She previously held the post of Deputy Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus Barbados.

Maddy received her BSc in Biology and Master of Public Health from the University of Miami in Florida, and her Doctorate in Public Health (Sociomedical Sciences) from Columbia University in New York. She joined the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI Cave Hill in 2011 as a Lecturer in Public Health and served as the Head of the Public Health Group for 4 years before moving to the GACDRC in 2019.

Maddy’s area of expertise is in the use of qualitative research methods. She has built a repertoire of research addressing the root causes of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) using all-of-society approaches primarily in the Caribbean and Pacific regions which have some of the highest rates of obesity and NCDs globally. Her research and publications over the past 17 years have focused on social and behavioural determinants of health; public health policy development, implementation and evaluation; and implementation and evaluation of interventions to increase food and nutrition security in Small Island Developing States. She has advised on a range of public health issues at national and regional levels, including serving as a Commissioner on the Barbados National Population Policy Commission for the Barbados Government, and as a Health Advisor to the CARICOM Commission to the Economy.