Kafui Dzirasa receives 2020 Presidential Award

Kafui Dzirasa, Ranga Rama Krishnan Associate Professor Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Neurobiology and Neurosurgery

In addition to doing groundbreaking research using neuroscience, bioengineering and computational approaches to examine the roots of mental illness, Kafui Dzirasa is a tireless advocate for, and mentor to, underrepresented minorities in science and medicine.

He’s worked to create a lab defined by inclusion and become a national voice on issues of racial inequality in science and academia.

“Dr. Dzirasa is a truly unique member of our community: a trailblazer, an innovator, a caring colleague, an activist and an inspirational leader across many dimensions,” wrote Moira Rynn, chair of Duke’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and one of Dzirasa’s nominators. “He is a powerful force for positive growth and change at Duke, and his contributions make our institution—and the world—a better place.”