Dr. Fred M. Ssewamala is renowned for his innovative, interdisciplinary research that improves outcomes for youth impacted by poverty and health disparities in low resource communities. He is the Constance and Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work and serves as the Faculty Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research. He also founded the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) and SMART Africa Center, which are dedicated to reducing poverty and improving public health outcomes for children, adolescents, and families in low-resource communities, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing nations.

Prior to joining NYU Silver, Dr. Ssewamala was Assistant Vice Provost for Global Research and William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he held a joint appointment at the George Warren Brown School and School of Medicine.

Currently, Dr. Ssewamala is conducting ten large-scale, NIH-funded longitudinal randomized control trials across sub-Saharan Africa. He also directs four NIH funded training programs that focus on training early-career researchers committed to careers in child behavioral health. In addition to leading his own projects, he has consulted for international development organizations including the World Bank in Nigeria, Oxfam in East and Central Africa, UNAIDS-Geneva, USAID and ChildFund International. Among the successful programs based on his research is the DREAMS Project, which is being implemented in ten African countries to prevent HIV among adolescent girls and young women.

Widely published in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Ssewamala serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Adolescent Health and co-edits the Global Social Welfare journal. He is a member of the Society for Social Work and Research, American Public Health Association, and the Siteman Cancer Center, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. He earned his MSW and PhD in Social and Economic Development Policy from Washington University’s Brown School. He also holds an undergraduate degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University in Uganda.