2025 GBD Emerging Researcher Award recipients honored for translating evidence into action
Published September 3, 2025
IHME announced today the winners of the 2025 GBD Emerging Researcher Award. Each year, the award highlights early-career researchers whose innovative work strengthens the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) framework and expands its impact on science and policy.
Established in 2020, the award celebrates scholars who are advancing disease estimation, improving data systems, and translating evidence into strategies that inform public health decision-making. The 2025 awardees exemplify this mission through their leadership and contributions to global health research.
Dr. Benedetta Armocida
Dr. Benedetta Armocida, Senior Researcher at the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), is recognized for her notable contributions to advancing the GBD framework in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and adolescent health. Her PhD research at the University of Geneva critically analyzed the burden of NCDs among adolescents across Europe, highlighting key gaps in primary data and refining GBD estimates on diabetes and other chronic conditions.
As a GBD Collaborator since 2020, Dr. Armocida has played a pivotal role in the Italian GBD Initiative, improving data quality, strengthening subnational estimates, and ensuring findings inform decision-making. She was lead author of a landmark Lancet Child & Adolescent Health study on adolescent NCDs in the EU, which has informed health policy and planning across the region.
Her work has been widely recognized, earning awards such as the SSPH+ Prize for Best Published PhD Article in Public Health and a merit mention in the Young Promise Top Italian Women Scientists Award. She has also been invited to speak at international forums hosted by WHO, the European Commission, and the GBD network.
Beyond her academic contributions, Dr. Armocida co-founded Saluteglobale.it, a nonprofit promoting the right to health and global health education. She also serves as European Coordinator of the EU4Health Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes (JACARDI), leading a consortium of 81 partners and over 800 members to advance equity-focused NCD strategies. Her leadership in translating GBD estimates into policy has influenced EU-level initiatives and health system strengthening efforts.
Dr. Armocida’s scholarship, leadership, and dedication to bridging research and policy make her an exemplary recipient of the 2025 GBD Emerging Researcher Award.
Dr. Nicholas Metheny
Dr. Nicholas Metheny, Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, is honored for his innovative research on the health impacts of violence against women and children. A nurse and public health scholar by training, Dr. Metheny has advanced the use of GBD methods to quantify the prevalence and health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and childhood sexual abuse.
Dr. Metheny has also emerged as a global leader in violence prevention. He is Vice President of the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International and co-leads international training efforts to strengthen violence research capacity in low- and middle-income countries. He also served as Director of the Secretariat for The Lancet Commission on Violence against Women and Children.
His work has been widely recognized, earning awards such as the Provost’s Research Award from the University of Miami and the Lancet Public Health Editors’ Pick Award. Dr. Metheny has been invited to present his research at international forums such as the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and the European Conference on Domestic Violence.
Dr. Metheny is also deeply committed to developing survivor-centered interventions. He is leading innovative projects in both the United States and South Africa, including adapting Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs to expand trauma-informed post-assault care and piloting a novel housing model that enables IPV survivors and their children to remain safely in their homes. His work exemplifies the translation of GBD findings into practical solutions that improve health systems and survivor support.
Dr. Metheny’s work stands as a model of how evidence-based research can drive meaningful change, making him a distinguished recipient of the 2025 GBD Emerging Researcher Award.