Dr. Hudson’s career is dedicated to the elimination of racial/ethnic inequities in health. His research agenda centers on how social determinants of health, particularly racism, affect multiple health outcomes.
Darrell Hudson is an associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Hudson holds a joint appointment with the Department of Psychiatry, a courtesy appointment with the Department of Sociology and is a Faculty Scholar with the Institute for Public Health. Dr. Hudson strives to develop researchers and professionals who are both well trained and passionate about achieving health equity.
At the core of Dr. Hudson’s research agenda is the investigation of a challenging research question, using a social epidemiologic perspective: despite greater exposure to stress, lower levels of socioeconomic position, and bearing a disproportionate burden of physical health disparities, why do African Americans have lower rates of depression compared to whites? Dr. Hudson’s published research includes studies that have examined racial/ethnic differences in depression, including the effects of socioeconomic position, racial discrimination, and coping behaviors on depression. He has also examined perceptions of depression and mental health care among African Americans and has investigated comorbid depression and type 2 diabetes in various settings.
Dr. Hudson completed his doctoral studies at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (Sociology cognate), where he also received his MPH. He earned a BS in Psychology from Morehouse College. Prior to his faculty appointment, Dr. Hudson completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Kellogg Health Scholars Program at the University of California at the San Francisco and Berkeley campuses, where he conducted research and gained additional training in social epidemiology.