David R. Williams, PhD, MPH, is a leading social scientist whose work has consistently broken new ground in research about the complex ways that race, discrimination and socioeconomic status shape physical and mental health. He is a professor of public health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Williams, who lectured on race, ethnicity and health at the June 2013 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Center for Health Policy at Meharry Summer Institute, is also a former RWJF Investigator in Health Policy Research (1994).

A few days after the reconvening of the RWJF Commission to Build a Healthier America, of which Williams is staff director, he sat down with RWJF for a Q&A. He discusses why the nation has failed to stop health disparities and how the problem can be solved.

Q: Has the United States made significant progress toward eliminating health disparities linked to race or socioeconomic status?
Q: Do you think that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help to reduce disparities?
Q: America has invested billions in stopping health disparities. Why have we failed?
Q: What advice do you have for health care providers? How can they reduce the disparities they see among their patients?
Q: Are you working on any new research related to disparities?
Q: What is the most important thing we can do to eliminate health disparities?