Overview
Beth Gifford is a research professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, a core faculty member of the Center for Child and Family Policy and the Margolis Institute for Health Policy. She leads a multidisciplinary research team that examines the health and social services engagement of children and families. Motivating her research is the need to understand how social policies and practices can better support children and families. Her work spans many public institutions including education, social services, criminal justice, and health care systems. She is the Director of the Undergraduate Health Policy Certificate Program and the Health Policy and Innovation Theme Leader for Bass Connections.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Research Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
·
2024 - Present
Sanford School of Public Policy
Professor of Pediatrics
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2024 - Present
Pediatrics, Children's Health Discovery Institute,
Pediatrics
Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy
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2023 - Present
Center for Child and Family Policy,
Sanford School of Public Policy
Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy
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2024 - Present
Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Scholarly Works
Child Maltreatment Re-report, Substantiation, and Foster Care Placement: A Latent Class Analysis of Child, Caregiver, and Household Risk Factors Across Screened-In and Screened-Out Cases.
Journal article Child maltreatment · August 2026 Children reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) face elevated risks of adverse outcomes. It is essential to identify vulnerable populations and opportunities for early intervention. This study combined qualitative coding of CPS intake reports with lat ... Full text CiteObservational and genetically-informed characterization of Gulf War Illness symptoms in 1990-1991 Gulf War deployed Veterans and non-deployed Gulf War Era Veterans.
Journal article Environmental health : a global access science source · June 2026 BackgroundGulf War Illness (GWI) has been identified in more than 20% of Veterans following military service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW). Unfortunately, after several decades, GWI pathogenesis remains unclear and the patterns of GWI symptom co- ... Full text CiteUnraveling the genetics of gulf war illness in diverse participants enrolled in the million veteran program.
Journal article Hum Mol Genet · May 11, 2026 Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multi-symptom chronic condition that affects Veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW). To generate novel information about GWI pathogenesis, we used genome-wide data available from 33 523 Veterans of diverse ancestral ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Collaborative cross-agency practices for improving child well-being
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Duke Endowment · 2024 - 2027Accelerated Aging in Gulf War Illness: Phenotypes, Epigenetic Biomarkers and Associations with Gulf War Exposures
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2023 - 2027Reducing the Need for Out-of-home Placements: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Effects of Family Centered Treatment on Well-Being Outcomes and Public Dollar Costs
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Family Centered Treatment Foundation · 2018 - 2026View All Grants
Education
Pennsylvania State University ·
2005
Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University ·
2000
M.S.
Cornell University ·
1997
B.S.