Barbara Lopes-Cardozo

Biography

Dr. Barbara Lopes Cardozo holds a Medical Degree from the University of Amsterdam, a Master’s degree in Public Health from Tulane University, and a specialization in Psychiatry from Louisiana State University. For the last 18 years, she has worked as a psychiatric epidemiologist at the Emergency Response and Recovery Branch (ERRB) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, focusing on mental health and psychosocial issues in humanitarian emergencies.

She is one of the founding members of Doctors without Borders (MSF) – Holland, winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. Among the dozens of missions with direct on-the-ground involvement by Dr. Lopes Cardozo during a decade with the organization are the Armenian Earthquake, Armero (Colombia) Volcano disaster, Peru cholera epidemic, as well as aid to victims of violent conflict in Somalia, Uganda, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

While employed at CDC, Dr. Lopes Cardozo has conducted numerous mental health surveys and outcome evaluations of mental health programs in war-affected countries among others in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Sri Lanka. She has also conducted mental health studies among humanitarian aid workers who work in these stressful conditions. She has been a pioneer in the field of mental health in emergencies. 

Dr. Lopes Cardozo is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Hubert Department of

Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health,  as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in The School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University.

Areas of Interest

• Behavior and Health
• Mental Health

Education

• MD, University of Amsterdam
• MPH, Tulane University
• Psychiatrist, Louisiana State University

Affiliations and Activities

Teaching

• GH 531: Mental Health in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies