New Faculty Spotlight: David Cloud

David Cloud, Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, says he was drawn to Georgia State’s School of Public Health by its collaborative, interdisciplinary spirit and its array of centers that bring faculty, students and community partners together.

 What inspired you to pursue a career in public health?
This is a difficult question to fully answer, but I have always been drawn to the history and purpose of public health. The field grew out of efforts to understand why disease, injury and premature death are distributed so unevenly across populations and to use science, policy and collective action to change the conditions that produce them. That combination of rigorous science, interdisciplinary thinking and a commitment to prevention resonated deeply with me.

I came to the field with a background in psychology and neuroscience, a law degree and a strong interest in addressing problems in the criminal legal system. Through research and policy work with nonprofit organizations, I saw firsthand the profound health and social inequities in our nation’s jails and prisons. I also saw how much of what happens inside jails and prisons is hidden from public view, even though the consequences of incarceration reach far beyond their walls to families and communities.

Public health gave me a different lens to understand these problems and to think about possible solutions. I found a sense of purpose in bringing my legal training and public health together to make these problems more visible, generate evidence for change and imagine better ways of promoting health and safety in our communities.

What attracted you to the GSU SPH?
I was drawn to Georgia State’s School of Public Health by its collaborative, interdisciplinary spirit. SPH has an impressive array of centers that bring faculty, students and community partners together around issues closely connected to my own work at the intersection of community health and safety. There is a vision at GSU that feels equipped to navigate the changes facing future generations. The school’s commitment to coupling rigorous science with community engagement and real-world impact makes GSU an ideal place to grow as a scholar and educator while building lasting collaborations.

I forever love Atlanta; the place I call home. I cherish being on a campus in the heart of downtown, immersed in a diverse, vibrant city with such a deep history of civil rights leadership and social justice. There is an energy on campus and throughout the city that I find inspiring.

How do you describe your research to people outside of your discipline?
My work combines my legal training with the theories, methods and ethics of public health to understand how mass incarceration shapes the health of individuals, families and communities. One focus is bringing greater transparency to how laws, policies and conditions inside jails and prisons affect mental and physical health and contribute to premature death.

I also evaluate how Medicaid policy, drug policy and community-based interventions can expand access to mental health care, substance use treatment, harm reduction and other supports for people at risk of criminal legal involvement. A central question is whether strengthening these systems can reduce society’s reliance on police, courts, jails and prisons to respond to unmet mental health needs, drug use, housing instability and economic marginalization.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I mostly enjoy the simple things. I spend a lot of time trekking around the city and hanging out in my neighborhood with family, friends and my dog. I am always listening to music, looking for a show to catch and playing as much guitar as possible. Little Five Points will always be my favorite enclave in the city.  Baseball brings me a lot of joy and occasional heartbreak. I love the statistics, history and stories that come with the game, and I have always liked the saying that baseball is the most important thing that does not matter. I am a diehard Braves fan and will always stay true to the Hawks and Falcons, too.