Noted Indian American applied microeconomist Manoj Mohanan has been appointed vice provost for interdisciplinary programs at Duke, a prestigious private research university in Durham, North Carolina, effective July 1.
Mohanan, a Mumbai university alumnus, is the Creed C. Black Professor of Public Policy and has served as interim dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy since 2024. He also holds faculty appointments in economics and global health.
“Manoj has worked to foster interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching across the university, and his deep knowledge of and commitment to Duke’s uniquely collaborative intellectual culture will be great assets as we continue to advance this aspect of our academic mission,” said Provost Alec D. Gallimore, announcing his appointment.
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Mohanan joined the Sanford faculty in 2011 and previously served as senior associate dean for faculty and research before being named interim dean. As interim dean, Mohanan led Sanford to implement faculty governance reforms, navigate the university’s strategic realignment and cost reduction process, and secure robust fundraising, including Sanford’s highest ever Annual Fund total last year. Mohanan has also served as a member of Duke’s Academic Council and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council (ECAC).
“Duke has been my intellectual home for 17 years, and I have benefited enormously from the interdisciplinary environment built by previous generations of Duke faculty and leaders,” Mohanan said. “I am excited to work with colleagues across our schools, institutes, centers, and initiatives to steward and extend interdisciplinary approaches to research, teaching, and public engagement.”
Mohanan’s own academic trajectory exemplifies his interdisciplinary interests. After earning a medical degree from the University of Mumbai in India, Mohanan left medicine to enroll at Harvard University, where he earned a master’s degree in public health from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and then a PhD in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences interfaculty program in health policy, specializing in economics.
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Today, as an applied microeconomist, Mohanan focuses on health and health care in developing countries, including measurement of provider quality and performance, performance-based contracts, and accountability. He has led field experiments and developed policy interventions, with many of his current projects based in India.
Mohanan has been the recipient of numerous research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Gates Foundation and the World Bank. He is currently the principal investigator for a six-year research project, funded by the NIH, on “Consequences of COVID-19: A longitudinal study of child health and mitigating factors in India.”
He serves as a standing member of the NIH study section on Population Dynamics and Health and has also advised the Wellcome Trust (UK) and the World Bank on a broad range of topics.
Mohanan will succeed Ed Balleisen, who has served in the role since 2015.