Henna Budhwani

Henna Budhwani is a professor in the College of Nursing at Florida State University. A medical sociologist, Budhwani researches the causes and effects of health disparities among populations stigmatized due to their background, health status, and residence in areas that lack resources.

She leads the Intervention Research and Implementation Science Lab, which aims to address public health gaps in underserved populations with intervention research. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Public Health.

Budhwani studies human rights to create solutions to public health and clinical care inequities. Her recent work focuses on improving COVID-19 and HPV vaccine use by addressing hesitancy, outlining the harmful effects of stigma, reducing maternal mortality and improving HIV prevention outcomes in rural and urban areas. She works with adolescents, young adults, Black populations and sexual and gender minorities in the U.S. and abroad.

Budhwani was co-recipient of the Robert Carr Research Award at AIDS 2020, a global conference on HIV and AIDS eradication, for her research on sexual activity in various populations across eastern Caribbean islands. She also received the Vulcan Award, Birmingham’s highest honor, from the city’s mayor in 2016.

Previously, Budhwani served as the deputy director of the Sparkman Center for Global Health and as a senior statistician with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

She holds a B.S. in biology from Northern Illinois University; master’s degrees in public health and sociology from the University of Alabama, Birmingham; and a Ph.D in medical basic sciences from the same. She is quoted in The Atlantic, WBHM and the Los Angeles Times.