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Michael Brett McCarty

Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences
Box 90968, Durham, NC 27708-0694
403 Chapel Drive, Box 90968, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences, Duke School of Medicine
Assistant Research Professor of Theological Ethics & Associate Director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative, Duke Divinity School


I hold a dual appointment in the School of Medicine's Department of Population Health Sciences and Duke Divinity School. My primary areas of scholarship include addiction and community engagement, bioethics, political theology, public health, and theological ethics. My current research projects focus on competing conceptions of agency within the modern hospital, religious responses to the opioid crisis, and developing new interdisciplinary work at the intersection of theology and public health.

Areas of Expertise: Addiction and Community Engagement, Bioethics, Qualitative Research, Political Theology, and Theological Ethics

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences · 2021 - Present Population Health Sciences, Basic Science Departments
Faculty Associate in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, & History of Medicine · 2017 - Present Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published July 9, 2019
Helping Churches Face Down the Opioid Epidemic in Appalachia

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Recent Publications


Pursuing Excellence in Health Care: Using Fourth-Century Wisdom to Transform Modern Medicine

Journal Article Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · September 2025 abstract: Despite growing interest in addressing health disparities in the US and around the world, excellence in US health care is largely defined by research dollars, innovation, and perceived prestige. This essay reimagines "excell ... Full text Open Access Cite

Responding to Substance Use Issues Through Relationships, Vulnerability, and Particularity: Theological Reflections on Empirical Research

Journal Article Anglican Theological Review · August 2025 Over the past 5 years, the Churches Promoting Recovery project has conducted listening sessions and a survey of clergy responding to substance use issues across North Carolina, building off earlier research in southern Appalachia. This article refl ... Full text Open Access Cite
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Recent Grants


Hope: Planning a revived scientific inquiry in a topic central to what makes life worth living

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by John Templeton Foundation · 2024 - 2027

Theology and Public Health Gathering

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Interfaith America · 2026 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2018 D.Th.