Amy Corneli, PhD, MPH

Amy Corneli, PhD, MPH, is a social scientist whose career has been dedicated to understanding how people make meaning of their experiences, the social and structural contexts that shape those experiences, and how these perspectives can inform more responsive medical research, clinical care, and community-based interventions.

Since 1994, Dr. Corneli has conducted research in the United States, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Across these settings, she has partnered with communities to conduct community-engaged research that reflects local priorities, lived realities, and community expertise. After joining Duke University in 2015, she founded QualCore and co-founded The BASE Lab, through which she and a team of social scientists partner with multidisciplinary teams across Duke University to integrate qualitative and mixed-methods approaches into a wide range of medical, population health, and health services research. Although her own research has focused primarily on HIV prevention and infectious diseases, her collaborative work spans numerous health topics and clinical specialties.

In addition to her research, Dr. Corneli is deeply committed to training and mentorship. At Duke University, she teaches two PhD- and master’s-level courses on qualitative research methods, including qualitative research design, engaging approaches to data collection, leadership, and dissemination. She also leads qualitative research methods training programs across sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, helping to strengthen qualitative research capacity among researchers and public health professionals in a variety of settings.