Rashid Njai, PhD, MPH, MSW
Lead, Minority Health & Health Equity Science Team
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
LCDR Rashid Njai, (PhD, MPH), serves the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) as Lead for the Minority Health and Health Equity Science Team. Prior to joining OMHHE, LCDR Njai served as senior epidemiologist for the Deputy Director of Non-Infectious Diseases (DDNID) supporting the cross-cutting science activities and focused on building CDC subject matter expertise and program capacity for emergent topics such as: cannabis and public health as well as mental health/emotional well-being. LCDR Njai received his PhD/MPH from the University of Michigan, School of Public Health and BS from the Pennsylvania State University. He joined CDC in 2008 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer assigned to the former Division of Adult and Community Health. LCDR Njai is a recognized leader championing work focused on the epidemiology of mental and physical health disparities among disproportionately affected populations, as they relate specifically to the social determinants of health, social behavioral resiliency and wellness. He has specialized interests and expertise in Community Needs Assessment, Syndromic Surveillance, Legal Epidemiology and Public Health Strategy.
He received a Commendation Medal from the US Public Health Service (USPHS) in recognition for his exceptional leadership, subject matter expertise and technical guidance in improving public health surveillance and research on social determinants of health from 2009 through 2015. He has served on several public health emergency deployments for the CDC and USPHS including the 2014-16 Ebola Response in Sierra Leone and most recently as Lead for the Social Behavioral Health Team, and Science Lead for the Chief Health Equity Officer Unit, during the 2020-2022 COVID-19 Response. He credits a commitment to spirituality, family, good mentorship, and opportunities to collaborate with other dedicated scholar activists for both his professional and personal growth.
