Sherman James: Social factors in cardiovascular disease
By Kathy Neal
DURHAM, NC -- Sherman James is home. After 14 years at the University of Michigan, most recently as John P. Kirscht Collegiate Professor of Public Health, he has returned to his native South eager to pursue his "real loves" of teaching and research.
James, who grew up in Hartsville, S.C., has built a distinguished career as a social epidemiologist. He is internationally known for his innovative research on racial and ethnic health disparities, and originated the concept of "John Henryism," named for the legendary African-American steel driver who died after competing fiercely with and defeating a steam-powered machine to drive steel railroad stakes. The California Center for Social Epidemiology calls the term "a synonym for prolonged, high-effort coping with difficult psychological stressors" that may help explain the disproportionately higher rates of cardiovascular disease among African-Americans and other people of color.
James, Duke's inaugural Susan B. King Professor of Public Policy Studies, is involved in a number of research projects revolving around race and health disparities, including an intervention project to improve the control of type-2 diabetes among African Americans and Latinos in Detroit and a decades-long study in Pitt County, N.C., on the effects of low socio-economic status and race on cardiovascular disease.
Fluent in Portuguese, he also has conducted similar research in Brazil. Along the way, he has received numerous awards and honors, including election to the Institute of Medicine. Not bad for a guy who never planned a career in social epidemiology.
James received his A.B. in psychology from Talladega College, then enrolled in the Ph.D. program in social psychology at Washington University. But a serendipitous dinner with a high school classmate over the Christmas holidays in 1971 set the stage for a major shift in direction.
The classmate "had gone to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to get a master's degree in environmental health in the School of Public Health. After the holidays, I went back to St. Louis to continue work on my Ph.D. A year later, I got a call from UNC's chair of epidemiology. They were interested in diversifying their faculty -- there were no black faculty in the school [of public health] at that time."
James met with various faculty members in the School of Public Health. The visit began inauspiciously: His first conversations were with a parasitologist and a virologist. "We didn't have much to talk about," he said with a laugh.
But then things got more interesting. "I met with John Cassel, the chair of the department. He was a South African expatriate and a strong critic of apartheid. For years, he had provided medical care to the Zulus and talked compellingly about social, psychological and cultural effects on health. He also talked about wanting to build a strong interdisciplinary faculty in the department, and that was very appealing to me," James said.
In fact, the whole field of epidemiology was becoming more appealing. "It was clear to me that the field of epidemiology employed a multidisciplinary approach that would enable me to integrate my interests in science and social justice, especially the promotion of health equity. Cassel's vision resonated strongly with me," he said. He accepted the appointment at UNC-CH and, over the next 16 years, he and his sons Alex and Scott became "rabid Carolina basketball fans."
In 1989, he joined the Michigan School of Public Health faculty, serving as the school's associate dean for academic affairs from 1993 to 1997 and becoming founding director, in 1998, of the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health.
A year ago, Duke came calling. Helen F. "Sunny" Ladd, Edgar T. Thompson Distinguished Professor of Public Policy Studies, chaired the search committee. "He is a creative, innovative and influential scholar," Ladd said. "His deep and sustained interest in racial and ethnic differences in health outcomes deepens the Sanford Institute's capacity to address policy problems related to intergroup differences in a wide range of policy areas."
It was the right place and the right time in his career. "This is a wonderful university. I love its emphasis on interdisciplinarity, and I want to contribute to the interdisciplinary conversation at Duke on eliminating health disparities and promoting good health for all," he said. "I also want more contact with economists, political scientists, historians and others, and the Sanford Institute provides that contact."
He also enjoys teaching. "It is a gift, a blessing, to help students find their own voice," he said. He looks forward to spending more time in the classroom at Duke, and to continuing his research, especially in Pitt County, where being so close will allow him the hands-on participation he craves.
James will also have the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues in Chapel Hill.
"I am delighted to have him back in the area," said David Savitz, professor and chair of epidemiology at UNC's School of Public Health. "He is outstanding at drawing people together to address big, important, challenging issues."
James has bought a house in Durham and is beginning to settle in. "I am happy to be here," he adds. "This is home. I know that now more than ever."
