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Bei Wu

Consulting Professor in the School of Nursing
School of Nursing
307 Trent Drive, DUMC 3322, Durham, NC 27710
311 Trent Drive, Room 1021, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Bei Wu, PhD, is Pauline Gratz Professor of Nursing, Director for International Research at the School of Nursing, and a member of the Global Health Institute. She is also a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Dr. Wu’s areas of research expertise include aging and global health.

Dr. Wu received her M.S. and Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). She is an internationally known expert on China’s long-term care policy and system development. She has worked closely with several schools of public health and schools of nursing in China on educational and research initiatives, such as conducting joint research projects, providing lectures, making presentations, and organizing professional conferences/training workshops. As the Principal Investigator, Dr. Wu has led many National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded projects on aging and health related issues including long-term care, dementia, caregiving, oral health, and health services utilization. She is also the Methods Core Director for the recently NIH-funded center on Adaptive Leadership in Symptom Science.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Consulting Professor in the School of Nursing · 2016 - Present School of Nursing
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine · 2025 - Present Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Medicine

In the News


Published August 7, 2023
Loneliness Linked to Insomnia Symptoms in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
Published April 29, 2016
Can Oral Health Affect an Individual’s Cognitive Abilities?
Published April 4, 2016
Link between gum disease and dementia is uncertain

View All News

Recent Publications


Social context matters: Neighborhood environment as a moderator of the longitudinal relationship between edentulism and cognitive function among older adults in the United States

Journal Article Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · June 1, 2025 Background: Previous research has shown poor oral health and neighborhood environment are both risk factors for cognitive decline among older adults. Little research has assessed the synergistic effects of poor oral health and neighborhood environment on c ... Full text Cite

Association Between Oral Hygiene Behaviours and Cognitive Decline in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Journal Article Journal of Advanced Nursing · May 1, 2025 Aim: To evaluate the association between oral hygiene behaviour and cognitive decline in adults. The outcomes include changes in global cognitive function, visual attention, task switching and the risk of dementia. Design: We conducted a systematic review ... Full text Cite

Expansion of the scope of nursing practice in community-based primary care: Addressing China's aging population and noncommunicable diseases with prescribing authority

Journal Article Nursing Outlook · May 1, 2025 This commentary addresses the urgent need to reform China's primary care system in response to its rapidly aging population and the increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It advocates for a nurse-led primary care model within community h ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Developing an Oral Health Intervention for Individuals with Mild Dementia

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2014 - 2016

Trend and Trajectories of Oral Health among Older Americans

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2009 - 2014

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


University of Massachusetts, Lowell · 2000 Ph.D.