Bei Wu is the Provost and Distinguished Global Professor of Public Health at NYU Shanghai. As Provost, she serves as NYU Shanghai’s chief academic officer, setting the university’s academic strategy and priorities, and overseeing academic appointments, research, and faculty affairs.
Prior to this role, Professor Wu served at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing as Vice Dean for Research and Dean’s Professor in Global Health, Director of Global Health and Aging Research, Director of Research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, and Inaugural Co-Director of the NYU Aging Incubator. Before joining NYU, she was the Pauline Gratz Professor of Nursing at Duke University. An internationally recognized leader in gerontology, Professor Wu has made lasting contributions to global health and aging research.
Over the course of her career, Professor Wu has mentored hundreds of students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty colleagues. Her prolific scholarship includes nearly 900 publications, including books, book chapters, conference abstracts, and 442 peer-reviewed journal articles, focusing on dementia caregiving, geriatric oral health, long-term care policy, dementia-related risk factors, immigrant health, and innovative interventions and technologies in aging. She has led dozens of externally funded research projects and has delivered invited keynote addresses at hundreds of national and international conferences and academic institutions.
Professor Wu’s achievements have been recognized by numerous national and international organizations. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and the New York Academy of Medicine, and an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is also an honorary member of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International; the incoming President of the Council for Chinese American Deans and Presidents; and a former president of the Geriatric Oral Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research. In addition, She has served on NIH review panels for the past two decades, and frequently reviews for international funding agencies.
Her many honors include the Distinguished Scientist Award for Geriatric Oral Research from the International Association for Dental Research (2017); the Inspiration Award from the China Health Policy and Management Society (2022); the Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Contributions to Healthy Aging from the Gerontological Society of America (2023); the Public Service Award from the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (2024); and the World Perio Research Award (2025).