About
Catherine Panter-Brick leads research on health and peacebuilding that connects scholarship to practice and policy. Her work has documented the intergenerational effects of conflict and displacement among Afghan and Syrian families and identified practical approaches to strengthening child development, mental health, family systems, and social cohesion. This research has brought evidence from conflict-affected communities into international policy discussions at the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the National Institutes of Health. She received the Lucy Mair Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute for excellence in applying anthropology to the recognition of human dignity. She is currently using participatory systems methods to identify pathways for peace, cooperation, and political progress in socially divided societies, alongside research evaluating the responsible use of AI tools for healthcare delivery.
Education
- D.Phil. Biological Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
- M.Sc. Human Biology, University of Oxford, UK
- M.A. (First Class) Human Sciences, University of Oxford, UK
- Baccalauréat (Biological Sciences), Lycée Français de Londres, UK
Explore Catherine Panter-Brick's work
Full biography
Catherine Panter-Brick is the Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University. She holds a joint appointment in the Jackson School of Global Affairs and the Department of Anthropology, with a secondary appointment at the Yale School of Public Health. From 2015 to 2026, she served as Head of Morse College and, from 2022 to 2026, as Chair of the Council of the Heads of Colleges.
Panter-Brick was raised by a French mother and an English father. Schooled in France and the UK, as well as in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, she studied Human Sciences and Anthropology at Oxford University. Her academic career has included research with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, a sabbatical with the Agence Française de Développement, a visiting position at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, a fellowship at St Hugh’s College, Oxford University, and a professorship at Durham University before joining Yale.
Her research has focused on health and wellbeing in communities affected by conflict and displacement. Her program evaluations and cross-disciplinary research with Syrian and Afghan refugees are leading examples of interdisciplinary work on mental health, intergenerational stress and resilience, and family systems interventions to promote wellbeing and social cohesion in war-affected communities. She received the Lucy Mair Medal, awarded by the Royal Anthropological Institute for excellence in the application of anthropology to the active recognition of human dignity. Her research has shown how war trauma can affect the biology of Syrian mothers, leaving epigenetic marks in children and grandchildren who had not yet been conceived at the time of the violence.
She uses participatory systems methods to identify pathways for peace, cooperation, and political progress in conflict-affected societies. Her work has mapped everyday peace with global peacebuilding actors and diverse stakeholders in Mauritania, examined the drivers of health equity in Rwanda, and identified pathways for cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of European Union accession. Working with participants ranging from career diplomats to business leaders, mayors, refugees, and university students, she uses methods including fuzzy cognitive mapping to develop causal systems models and identify intervention scenarios for policy and institutional change. Panter-Brick also collaborates on evaluating the responsible use of AI tools for healthcare delivery.
Panter-Brick has published approximately 190 peer-reviewed publications in global health and the social sciences and has coedited eight books, including Medical Humanitarianism: Ethnographies of Practice and Pathways to Peace. Her collaborative work has also generated policy briefs on intergenerational peacebuilding, social justice, resilience, and global health. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council, and other major funders.
She has presented research on peacebuilding, resilience, and mental health at international policy forums, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank. Her work with Syrian refugee youth is featured in the award-winning documentary Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience, broadcast on PBS. The research has also been featured by Elrha in impact case studies on mental health support and good practice in humanitarian research.
At Yale, Panter-Brick directs the Global Health Studies Multidisciplinary Academic Program and co-directs the Peacebuilding Initiative at the Jackson School. She also directs the Program on Conflict, Resilience, and Health at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. She is an active member of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium, a former Senior Editor of Social Science & Medicine, and a Past President of the Human Biology Association. During 2026–27, she is on sabbatical at the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University and the European University Institute in Florence.
Selected publications
See a list of published work on PubMed or download a full list of publications.
Scholarship featured in YouTube videobytes:
2025 Supporting the mental health of forcibly displaced children. A call to action
2025 Violence leaves its mark on the human genome across generations
2024 Fuzzy cognitive mapping shows volunteering can empower women living in Jordan English | Arabic
2024 Father involvement, parental agreement, and child development in Syrian refugee families
Selected recent publications:
On peacebuilding:
2026 Transforming Conflict: Former Combatants and Community Healing in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2025 Pathways to everyday peace: visualizing local knowledge to model system change
2025 Everyday Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Findings from Sarajevo and East Sarajevo
2025 How Global Peacebuilders Think: A Tool for Policy Dialogue and System Change
2025 In Pursuit of Sustainable Peace: Practical Recommendations for Integrating MHPSS
2024 Intergenerational Pathways to Peace
2023 Strategies for Sustainable Peacebuilding: Implementation and Policy
On war and displacement:
2025 Supporting the mental health of forcibly displaced children
2023 Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30
On social innovation:
2025 Mapping the perceived impacts of a social innovation program on women’s agency and life satisfaction
2025 Training for Equity: Participatory Systems Mapping in Global Health Education
On humanitarian systems:
2024 Arts-Based Interventions for Humanitarian Workers
On family wellbeing and social inclusion:
2024 Does volunteering impact refugee women’s life satisfaction, empowerment, and wellbeing?
2024 Co-parenting, mental health, and the pursuit of dignity: A systems-level analysis
2024 Father involvement and child development: A prospective study
2022 Fathers Matter for Peace, Equity, and Social Inclusion
On global health:
2026 A Tool for System Change: Turning Water Insecurity Into Action
2025 Climate Advocacy through Collective Action: Recommendations for Environmental Health Policy
2025 Promoting Forcibly Displaced Children’s Mental Health Through Educational Intervention
2024 Mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic
2024 Syrian refugee young adults implementing problem management plus
2024 Sustainable Investment in the African Pharmaceutical Industry
Media and commentary
See the full Media and Commentary record here.
Media and science communication:
Recent podcast:
2025 World Peace Foundation podcast, Disrupting Peace: First Steps to a Peaceful Childhood for All, with Susan Bissell and host Bridget Conley
On peacebuilding:
2026 Yale News, What does ‘everyday’ peace look like? Mapping how people think about peacebuilding, Jan 8
2025 Yale and the World, Yale Peacebuilding Initiative deepens work in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
2023 Jackson News, New Policy Brief outlines key strategies for sustainable peacebuilding, Apr 11
On war and displacement:
2025 Jackson News, Yale faculty bring evidence of war’s biological legacy to United Nations General Assembly, Oct 24
2025 Yale News, A first-of-its-kind study shows that experiencing violence and trauma leaves a heritable imprint on the human genome, Mar 6
2019 National Public Radio, A teen refugee's brain may be disrupted more by poverty than past trauma, Oct 28
2019 Yale News, Poverty, not trauma, affects cognitive function in refugee youth, Oct 24
2019 Yale News, Study examines effects of genes and resilience on Syrian refugee youth, Jul 17
2019 New York Times, For refugee children, reading help heal trauma, Apr 17
2018 Science, In war zones and refugee camps, researchers are putting resilience interventions to the test, Feb 28
On social innovation:
2024 Yale News, Fuzzy maps offer insight into local perceptions of the value of volunteering, Jun 4
2024 NBC Connecticut interview, How volunteering impacts refugees, May 7
2024 Yale News, Volunteering enhances life satisfaction among refugee women, Apr 8
2023 Yale News, Volunteering empowers refugee and Jordanian women in poor urban communities, Jul 28
On family wellbeing and social inclusion:
2024 Yale News, Parental discord over dads’ role linked to child development shortfalls, Apr 1
2015 The American Scholar, Where’s Dad? The case for Fathers to Father, Mar 18
On humanitarian systems:
2025 Yale News, Aid worker narratives reveal discontent within the humanitarian sector, Feb 10, 2025
On global health:
2020 Jackson Virtual Discussion Forum, COVID-19 and Global Affairs: Breakthrough Scientific Research at Yale, moderator, Jun 4
2020 Jackson Virtual Discussion Forum, COVID-19 and Global Affairs: How the Pandemic Will Shape International Politics, moderator with Ambassador Samantha Power, Jun 10
Yale featured broadcast:
2021 Yale Capital Campaign, live speaker in the Collaborating for Impact segment of What Is Yale For? opening broadcast, Oct 2
Documentary:
2023 Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience: Award-winning documentary by Ron Bourke, featuring my research with Syrian refugees. Premiered on PBS/World Channel and broadcast on 191 PBS stations. Awards include the Humanitarian Award, Immigration Film Festival; Best Documentary Film, 2020 SCI-ON Film Festival, Nevada; Best Documentary Short, RAW SCIENCE Film Festival and 2020 AFMX Festival.
Books
Callan H, Editor-in-Chief; Panter-Brick C, Associate Editor (2018), International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Abramowitz S and Panter-Brick C (2015). Medical Humanitarianism: Ethnographies of Practice. Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights, University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Leckman J, Panter-Brick C, and Salah R (2014). Pathways to Peace: The Transformative Power of Children and Families. Strüngmann Forum Report, volume 15. MIT Press.
- Panter-Brick C & Fuentes A (2010). Health, Risk, and Adversity. New York: Berghahn Books.
- Panter-Brick C, Layton RL and Rowley-Conwy P (2001) Hunter-Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Panter-Brick C & Smith M (2000). Abandoned Children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Panter-Brick C & Worthman CM (1999). Hormones, Health and Behavior: A Socioecological and Lifespan Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Panter-Brick C (1998). Biosocial Perspectives on Children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Policy engagement
See the full Policy and United Nations Engagement record here.
Policy engagement:
2025 Danish Refugee Council, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for the Afghan Diaspora, Mar 5
2024 United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Reframing Peace Narratives: Higher Education Engagement, Jul 22
2024 AÇEV / Early Childhood Peace Consortium, Pathways to Peace: Early Childhood and Families, Istanbul, Jun 11–12
2024 UNDP Crisis Bureau, Peacebuilding Across Generations: Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, Apr 2
2023 Elrha(UK), Impact Case Study No. 19, Demonstrating the effectiveness of mental health support for war-affected adolescents, Aug 1
2023 Royal Cultural Center, Amman, Social Networks as Pathways of Human Flourishing and Social Support: The Journey of Changemakers, Jordan, Mar 11
2023 Elrha (UK), Good Practice in Research Participation, R2HC Case Study No. 5, Measuring the health and wellbeing impacts of a scalable program of psychosocial intervention for refugee youth, Feb 21
2020 British Council, Bridging Voices webinar series: Religion and Social Justice for Refugees, Sep 15
2020 European Horizons, Transatlantic Youth Dialogue: Policy, Relations & Perspectives, Jun 24
2019 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Borderland Security Conference: On the Border by the Sea, Brownsville, TX, May 23–24
2019 National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Grand Challenges Canada, New Therapeutic Targets, Biomarkers, and Predictors; Effective Community Engagement in Health Research in Humanitarian Crises, Bethesda, Apr 9
2018 Overseas Development Institute (ODI), launch of the special issue of Humanitarian Exchange featuring research with Syrian refugees, London, Jul 5
2018 USAID, Social-Emotional Learning Roundtable, How to frame & measure lived experiences & lifelong impacts, Washington, DC, Jun 1
2018 Save the Children / Department for International Development (DFID), Healing the Invisible Wounds of War, Wilton Park Dialogue, research featured as one of three case studies of innovation, UK, Jan 16–19
2017 No Lost Generation, Positive Pathways Summit on Psychosocial Support Programming for Conflict-Affected Children and Youth, presentation and expert consultation, Amman, Jordan, Nov 22–23
2017 World Bank, Human Development Practice Group, Mental health and psychosocial interventions: Innovations and challenges in conflict-affected settings, Washington, DC, Oct 26
2017 World Health Organization, Mental health and psychosocial support research in humanitarian settings, WHO Headquarters, Geneva, Oct 2–3
2017 Elrha, R2HC Research Forum, expert consultation on research in humanitarian settings, Berkshire, UK, Sep 4–6
United Nations engagement:
2026 UN Commission for Social Development / World Organization for Early Childhood Education, “Early childhood experiences and intergenerational peace: what science requires of policy,” Feb 5
2025 United Nations General Assembly UNGA-80, “Violence leaves its mark on the human genome across generations,” Voices from Sciences, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations, Sep 25
2024 Peace Innovation Roundtable, University for Peace United Nations Headquarters, Oct 24
2024 United Nations General Assembly UNGA-79, “Bringing evidence of war’s biological legacy,” Sep 25
2023 United Nations General Assembly UNGA-78, Chair, High-level Session on Early Childhood Development: Pathways to Sustainable Peace, with UN Special Representatives of Chile, Colombia, and Ireland, the EU Special Programmes Body, and UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children, Sep 28