Dr. Marcus Lambert is a nationally recognized expert in scientific workforce diversity, mentorship, and health equity. Named one of New York’s Life Sciences Power 50 and one of Cell Press’ 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America, Dr. Lambert brings a deep commitment to inclusive excellence in biomedical research.
He currently serves as Associate Vice President for Research at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, where he leads initiatives to expand the university’s extramural research portfolio—particularly in health equity and clinical research. He also co-directs several NIH-funded research training programs focused on recruiting and advancing scientists in health disparities research.
Dr. Lambert is a Principal Investigators of the TRANSlational Program Of health disparities Research Training (TRANSPORT), a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Clinical Research Scholars Training Program (CREST), a $2.6 million grant from the NIH to support health equity research training.
His own research, as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, investigates disparities in the health workforce and how structured mentorship networks can improve outcomes. He leads an NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA R35) to study and test mentorship interventions using graph theory.
Previously, Dr. Lambert served as Assistant Dean of Diversity and Student Life at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he led a $2.4 million NIH Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD). There, he established an office dedicated to student diversity and launched innovative mentorship and community-building programs that significantly increased the diversity of Ph.D. trainees.
Dr. Lambert serves on national advisory boards, including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Center for the Advancement of Science Leadership and Culture and the NIH/NIGMS TWD-D Study Section.
He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research from Weill Cornell, and a Bachelor’s degree from Howard University. Dr. Lambert lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and four children.