Jaifred Christian Lopez, or Jim, is a doctoral student at Duke's Department of Population Health Sciences. He is also affiliated with the Durham VA Health Care System's Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (Durham ADAPT) as a research associate. He is a clinically trained physician (licensed in the Philippines) who has transitioned to full-time health systems research.
He is currently involved in projects related to health systems innovation within the US Veterans Health Administration, and in the global health context (through ongoing collaborations with colleagues based in the Philippines and other countries).
At Duke, he is a scholar of the Biosciences Collaborative for Research Engagement (BioCoRE) program, which aims to promote diversity and inclusion in biomedical and health sciences research. He is also a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at Duke PopHealth.
Jim is a founding member of the board of trustees of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, Inc., founding member of the Young Physician Leaders (YPL) Alumni Steering Committee, which gathers graduates of the InterAcademy Partnership's YPL Program, and a founding trustee of Tambalista, Inc., which aims to advance nature-based products research in the Philippines through academe-industry partnerships.
He finished his Bachelor of Science degree in Basic Medical Sciences, and his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of the Philippines Manila, and holds a master's degree in Public Management (Major in Health Systems and Development) from the Development Academy of the Philippines.
In his spare time, Jim enjoys trying various ethnic cuisines, cooking, exploring greenways, playing the keyboard, singing, and reading historical and non-fiction books.