The Center for Global Health Equity at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce the appointment of Lindsay Kobayashi, PhD, MSc, as Associate Director for Research Strategy. In this role, Kobayashi will lead the center’s research strategy, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that address global health disparities, particularly among aging populations.
Kobayashi is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the social epidemiology of cognitive aging from a global perspective, investigating how social and economic factors throughout the life course influence cognitive health in older adults. She utilizes data from internationally harmonized longitudinal studies of aging, including populations in the United States, England, India, China, Mexico, and South Africa.
At the University of Michigan, Kobayashi is affiliated with the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health (CSEPH), the Rogel Cancer Center, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and the Institute for Social Research. She also directs the NIA-funded T32 predoctoral training program, “Interdisciplinary Research Training on Health and Aging,” within the Department of Epidemiology and the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) International Network.
Internationally, Kobayashi serves as an Honorary Senior Researcher at the MRC/Wits Rural Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her work in rural South Africa examines the impact of social and economic factors on cognitive aging, aiming to inform policy solutions that support healthy aging in low-income settings.
Kobayashi earned her PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health from University College London and holds an MSc and BSc from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.
While her academic work has often focused on aging and the social determinants of health, her role at the center is intentionally expansive. She will help shape a broad research agenda that supports faculty across a range of disciplines and geographic areas, with the ultimate goal of reducing global health inequities through rigorous, collaborative inquiry. As associate director for research, Kobayashi will work closely with faculty across disciplines to foster collaboration, identify shared research priorities, and connect scholars with resources and opportunities to deepen the impact of their work.
