Diana Silimperi is an international public health pediatrician, epidemiologist, and global health thought leader. She brings 35 years of global experience leading the planning, design, implementation or management of large-scale integrated healthcare service delivery and health system strengthening programs in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Prior to joining Duke in 2019 as a Visiting Professor of the Practice of Global Health, she held executive management positions in 3 global health and development companies, and worked closely with diverse Ministries of Health, UN organizations, NGOs and private sector health.

Diana earned both her Bachelor of Science in Zoology/Psychology and her M.D. from Duke University and completed her pediatric residency at the University of Washington, followed by an assignment at CDC as an EIS Officer. She has dedicated her career to the practice of global health in the context of LMICs, concentrating on overcoming access barriers, assuring quality and scaling up high impact, evidence-based interventions. Throughout her career, Diana has been an advocate for the special needs of the most vulnerable populations, and the integral role of community-based health workers to bridge the gap between families, communities, and the health system.

She works closely with the Education team to strengthen course offerings, mentoring and learning experiences to better prepare graduates aimed at global health practitioner careers. Diana co-leads the Duke-Pamlico County Partnership which provides experiential learning in rural health systems, research training and independent studies for global health majors and MSc students. She also provides technical and strategic input to programs at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, as well as the Center for Global Women’s Health Technology.