Health and Culture

Susan B. Scrimshaw ’74GSAS was awarded the Adam Yarmolinsky Medal for her contributions to the National Academy of Medicine. Scrimshaw has been a member of the academy for thirty-eight years, and focuses on health disparities and health equities in the global community. She and her father, Nevin Scrimshaw, were the first father-daughter pair to become members of the academy. Susan Scrimshaw studied cultural anthropology at Barnard and Columbia, where her mentor was the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead. As a medical anthropologist, Scrimshaw has investigated the cultural factors that lead to health disparities around the world, and has worked to promote healthy pregnancies, prevent domestic violence, and develop health-related jobs in underserved populations. Scrimshaw is the president of the Sage Colleges, in upstate New York.