Keith Whitfield

Keith E. Whitfield, PhD is Director of the Center on Biobehavioral and Social Aspects of Health Disparities; Director, Developmental Psychology Program; and Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University. He has receive numerous awards and honors including the 2007 Leadership Award, GSA Task Force on Minority Issues, Allen L. Edwards Endowed Lecturer, Dpt.of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle; earned as principal investigator in 2006-2009 over 2...See more

Keith E. Whitfield, PhD is Director of the Center on Biobehavioral and Social Aspects of Health Disparities; Director, Developmental Psychology Program; and Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University. He has receive numerous awards and honors including the 2007 Leadership Award, GSA Task Force on Minority Issues, Allen L. Edwards Endowed Lecturer, Dpt.of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle; earned as principal investigator in 2006-2009 over 2.5M; authored over 60 professional articles; 50 book chapters; and coedited 3 books, among other accomplishments. Dr. Whitfield is training is in life span development with post doctoral training in quantitative genetic methods. His research involves the study of individuals and a twin resulting in "The Baltimore Study of Black Aging (BSBA)"; the first data collection was designed to examine the influence on everyday cognition and health among African Americans. It continues today, more than 12 years and 2600 interviews later. Dr. Whitfield also developed his own twin study of health and psychosocial factors related to health called the Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA). CAATSA is one of the largest in-person studies of adult African Americans. This study has examined genetic and environmental contributions to hypertension, smoking, depression, cognitive impairment, and lung function. See less