Eduardo J. Gómez, PhD, MA

Dr. Eduardo J. Gómez is a Professor and Director of the Institute of Health Policy and Politics. A political scientist by training, his research focuses on the politics of global health policy, with a focus on emerging middle-income countries. He is the author of several books, with the latest titled Junk Food Politics: How Beverage and Fast Food Industries are Reshaping Emerging Economies (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023). Professor Gómez has published his research in a myriad of peer-reviewed journal articles, policy journals, and major news outlets. In 2022, Professor Gómez led The Lancet’s first series on political science and global health and has led other major journal series. He is currently working on several research projects focused on the international and domestic politics of the commercial determinants of health, food security, and malnutrition. Professor Gómez was a Commissioner for the Rockefeller Foundation and Boston University Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and served as a National Task Force Member on Equity and Covid-19 for the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse College. His research has received external funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Oxfam, George Soros, and Tinker Foundations.

Prior to his arrival at Lehigh, Professor Gómez was an Associate Professor (UK Senior Lecturer) at King’s College London, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, and a pre-doctoral visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has also previously worked for the RAND Corporation, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Dialogue. Professor Gómez is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received his PhD in political science from Brown University, MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.

Education

• Brown University, PhD and MA in Political Science
• University of Chicago, MA in International Relations
• University of Virginia, BA and MA in Foreign Affairs

Areas of Research and Publications

Global Health Politics and Policy

Professor Gómez’s research focuses on the politics of international and domestic government response to a variety of public health challenges, more recently obesity and type-2 diabetes. His current research explores the politics of the commercial determinants of health in several high growth economies.

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Awards and Honors

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Research Grant for Project Food as a right - What can we learn from the World?  (2023-present)
• Commissioner, Rockefeller Foundation, 3-D Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2020-2021)
• Rockefeller Foundation, Research Grant for Project Political Science in Global Health Policy-Making (2019-2021)
• Selected for LVAIC (Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges) Higher Education Leadership Institute program, Lehigh University (2022-2023)
• Advisory Board Member, Public Policy & Society Network on Covid-19, University of São Paulo, Brazil (2022-present)
• King's College London, nominated for Teaching Excellence Award (2016-18), School of Global Affairs

Courses