S1.E1. Leading Nursing Science: Closing the Health Equity Gap Holistically
Shannon Zenk Ph.D., MPH, RN, FAAN – Director, NIH National Institute of Nursing Research
Shannon N. Zenk, Ph.D., MPH, RN, FAAN is the Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Dr. Zenk was previously a Nursing Collegiate Professor in the Department of Population Health Nursing Science at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing, and a fellow at the UIC Institute for Health Research and Policy.
Dr. Zenk was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2013, received the President’s Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research in 2018, was inducted into the International Nurse Researchers Hall of Fame in 2019, and elected as a member of The National Academy of Medicine in 2021. She has spent time as a visiting scholar in Rwanda and Australia. She earned her bachelor’s in nursing, magna cum laude, from Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington; her master’s degrees in public health nursing and community health sciences from UIC; and her doctorate in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her predoctoral training was in psychosocial factors in mental health and illness, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Her dissertation examined racial and socioeconomic inequities in food access in metropolitan Detroit. She completed postdoctoral training in UIC’s Institute for Health Research and Policy’s Cancer Education and Career Development Program, funded by the National Cancer Institute, in 2006.
Dr. Zenk’s own research focuses on social inequities and health with a goal of identifying effective, multilevel approaches to improve health and eliminate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities. Her research portfolio has included NIH-supported work into urban food environments, community health solutions and veterans’ health. Through pioneering research on the built environment and food deserts, Dr. Zenk and her colleagues increased national attention to the problem of inadequate access to healthful foods in low-income and Black neighborhoods.
They have since examined the role of community environments in health and health disparities. Recognizing that restricting empirical attention to the communities where people live and not the other communities where they spend time may misdirect interventions, Dr. Zenk led early research adopting GPS tracking to study broader “activity space” environments in relation to health behaviors. She and her colleagues have also evaluated whether the effectiveness of behavioral interventions differs depending on environmental context and, most recently, how environmental and personal factors interact to affect health. This work has leveraged a variety of technologies and emerging data resources such as electronic health records. Energy balance-related behaviors and conditions have been a major focus.
To learn more about the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), please visit here.
S1.E2. Not GQ, It’s CQ: What’s Cultural Intelligence?
Angela Richard-Eaglin DNP, FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP – Associate Dean for Equity at Yale University School of Nursing
Angela Richard-Eaglin, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP, is the Associate Dean for Equity at Yale University School of Nursing. She served as the Co-director of the VA Nursing Academic Partnership in Graduate Education Primary Care Residency Program for 4 years. She has been a registered nurse for 27 years and a Board Certified FNP for 20 years. Her clinical practice experience is extensive and includes primary care, women’s health, urgent care, disaster response, and veteran’s health. Dr. Richard-Eaglin has a track record of successfully implementing interventions for improving processes and having measurable outcomes within clinics that she has held both formal and informal leadership roles. Dr. Richard-Eaglin is a champion for expanding diversity and inspiring cultural intelligence and cultural humility in health care organizations, health professions education programs, and clinical practice. Her entire nursing career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable, historically marginalized, stigmatized, and financially burdened populations. She is a Certified Professional Cultural Intelligence (CQ) I&II and Unconscious Bias Facilitator and Coach and is very active in facilitating workshops for health professions educators, students, and health care professionals. The guiding principles for her unrelenting commitment to the role of health professions education and clinical practice are advocacy, stewardship of quality care based on the highest standards, and tilting the scales of social justice toward advancing health equity among vulnerable, marginalized, stigmatized, and underserved populations. Dr. Richard-Eaglin is a recognized leader in local, regional, and national initiatives aimed at supporting and expanding diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging opportunities for underrepresented individuals and populations.
To learn more about CQ, please visit here.
S1. E3. Systemic Racism in Research: Addressing Colorblind Racism and White Hegemony
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Ph.D. – James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Duke University
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of sociology at Duke University. He received his BA in Sociology with a minor in Economics in 1984 from the Universidad de Puerto Rico-Río Piedras campus. He received his MA (1988) and Ph.D. (1993) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He worked at the University of Michigan (1993-1998), Texas A&M University (1998-2005), and has been at Duke University since 2005.
He gained visibility in the social sciences with his 1997 American Sociological Review article, “Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation,” where he challenged analysts to study racial matters structurally rather than from the sterile prejudice perspective. His book, Racism Without Racists (6th edition appearing late in 2021), has become a classic in the field and influenced scholars in education, religious studies, political science, rhetoric, psychology, political science, legal studies, and sociology.
To date, he has published five books, namely, White Supremacy and Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era (co-winner of the 2002 Oliver Cox Award given by the American Sociological Association), Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States (2004 Choice Award and again in 2015), White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism (with Ashley Doane), in 2008 White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology (with Tukufu Zuberi and also the co-winner of the 2009 Oliver Cox Award), and in 2011 State of White Supremacy: Racism, Governance, and the United States (with Moon Kie Jung and João H. Costa Vargas).
His research has appeared in journals such as Sociological Inquiry, Racial and Ethnic Studies, Race and Society, Discourse and Society, American Sociological Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, Contemporary Sociology, Critical Sociology, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Research in Politics and Society, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, The American Behavioral Scientist, Political Power and Social Theory, and Social Problems among others.
Among the many awards Bonilla-Silva has received are the 2007 Lewis Coser Award given by the Theory Section of the American Sociological Association for Theoretical-Agenda Setting and, in 2011, the Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award given by the American Sociological Association “to an individual or individuals for their work in the intellectual traditions of the work of these three African American scholars.” And in 2021, he received the W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award, given by the American Sociological Association, and the Latinx History Maker, given by the Illinois Latinos Judges Association. He served as President of the Southern Sociological Society and the American Sociological Association in 2017-2018.
His most recent work includes an article titled, “‘Racists,’ ‘Class Anxieties,’ Hegemonic Racism, and Democracy in Trump’s America,” in Social Currents (2018), “Feeling Race: Theorizing the racial Economy of Emotions,” in the American Sociological Review, (2019), “Color-blind Racism in Pandemic Times,” in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (2020), “¿Aqu no hay racismo: Apuntes Preliminares sobre lo racial en las Américas,” in Revista de Humanidades (2020), “On the Racial Fantasies of White Liberals in Trump’s America and Beyond,” in Amerikastudien / American Studies: A Quarterly (2021) and “What makes ‘Systemic Racism’ Systemic?” in Sociological Inquiry (2021). He is working on papers to (1) reorient the work on microaggressions, (2) on how to theorize racial formations in the Americas and the Caribbean, (3) on the import of normative, habituated behavior in the reproduction of systemic racism, and (4) on explaining why people in Latin America do not interpret overtly racist images as racist.
S1. E4. “The Algorithm is Not a Sentient Being:” Health Equity in Data Science
Heather Krause, PStat – Founder of We All Count
Heather Krause, PStat is a data scientist with over a decade of experience building tools that improve practices and systems. Heather is a statistician with years of experience working on complex data problems and producing real-world knowledge. She has a strong love of finding data, analyzing it in creative ways, and using cutting-edge visualization methods to visualize the results. Her emphasis is on combining strong statistical analysis with clear and meaningful communication. She is currently working on implementing tools for equity and ethics in data. As the founder of two successful data science companies, she attacks the largest questions facing societies today, working with both civic and corporate organizations to improve outcomes and lives. Her relentless pursuit of clarity and realism in these projects pushed her beyond pure analysis to mastering the entire data ecosystem including award-winning work in data sourcing, modeling, and data storytelling, each incorporating bleeding edge theory and technologies.
Her work proves that data narratives can be meaningful to any audience from a boardroom to the front page. Heather is the founder of We All Count, a project for equity in data working with teams across the globe to embed a lens of ethics into their data products from funding to data collection to statistical analysis and algorithmic accountability. Her unique set of tools and contributions have been sought across a range of clients from MasterCard and Wells Fargo to the United Nations, the Canadian Government, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is on the Data Advisory Board of the UNHCR.
To learn more about We All Count, please visit here.
S1.E5. Uprooting the Causes of Health Inequities: A Syndemic Orientation
Rosa González-Guarda, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CPH, FAAN – Associate Professor at Duke School of Nursing & Co-Director of the Community-Engaged Research Initiative at the Duke Clinical Translational Science Institute
Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CPH, FAAN, is an Associate Professor at Duke University School of Nursing and a Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core for Duke’s Clinical Translational Science Institute. Her research focuses on describing the intersection of intimate partner violence, substance abuse, HIV, and mental health among Latinos in the U.S. and the development of culturally-tailored interventions to address these. She uses a syndemic orientation, mixed methods, and community engagement strategies to address these areas of interest. She is currently the principal investigator of a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (1 R01 MD012249-01) that will help identify the impact that acculturation stress and resilience have on biobehavioral and mental health outcomes among young adult Latino immigrants over time. She is also currently an executive member of LATIN-19 (Latinx Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19) and leads the research committee of this network. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda is committed to building and nurturing the next generation of nurses to promote health equity. She was one of the five nurses who served on the Institute of Medicine Committee that produced the landmark Future of Nursing Report (2010), was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and Practice (NACNEP, 2012-2016), and has been the principal investigator of various programs that promote health disparities research careers for underrepresented minority nurses and students from various health professions. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda is an alumna of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellowship Program at the American Nurses Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
To learn more about the Community-Engaged Research Initiative at Duke, see here.
S1.E6. Clinical Trials, Data Repositories, Health Services Research, and More!
Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS – Vice Dean of Duke University School of Medicine & Executive Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute
Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS, is Executive Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and also serves as Vice Dean and Duke Health Cardiology Distinguished Professor at the Duke University School of Medicine, all in Durham, NC. Dr. Hernandez received his medical degree from the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Hernandez completed his fellowship in cardiology at Duke University Medical Center Cardiology in Durham, NC, as well as his MHS.
Dr. Hernandez has research interests in improving cardiovascular health and accelerating clinical evidence through outcomes research, clinical trials, comparative effectiveness, and health policy. Dr. Hernandez is a member of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, the Heart Failure Society of America, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Association of Physicians. He had led multiple large-scale patient-centered research programs, registries, and clinical trials resulting in more than 600 peer-reviewed publications.
S1.E7. Leveraging Clinical and Research Nurse Experience: Improving Health in the LGBTQIA+ Community
Dalmacio Dennis Flores, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor at University of Pennslyvania School of Nursing
Dalmacio Dennis Flores received his Ph.D. in Nursing in 2016 and is currently an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. For the last 10 years, he has been serving on the front lines of HIV treatment, first as a nurse on an HIV/AIDS unit in Atlanta and now as a nurse scientist conducting intervention research targeting HIV prevention. Dennis is a strong advocate for LGBTQ adolescents and an ally for parents by helping them have important conversations to improve communication and sexual health and reduce the risk of HIV. During his time at Duke, Dennis received the 2016 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring and served as a member of the Graduate Board of Visitors.
S1.E8. Decide With . . . Not For: Partnering with Stakeholders to Address Health Disparities
Janet Bettger, ScD, FAHA – Chair of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Temple University
Dr. Janet Bettger’s research is dedicated to establishing real-world evidence aimed to improve health care quality and policies that reduce the burden of disease and disability. As a health services researcher and implementation scientist, her research extends from observational studies to randomized and pragmatic trials. She is currently the Director of Duke Roybal Center for Translational Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging and Director of Undergraduate Initiatives for the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. She has examined implementation of several integrated care models to improve the transition home from the hospital (VERITAS with virtual exercise therapy after knee replacement, COMPASS for stroke, RECOVER for stroke in rural China, and coordinated care for trauma patients in Tanzania). She also studies implementation of community-based models of care that can prevent functional decline. These include the CTSA-funded IMPAC RCT of integrating physical therapists into primary care as first line providers to address musculoskeletal pain, the VA-funded Gerofit program of structured and progressive in-person and virtual group exercise for older Veterans, MRC-funded SINEMA RCT of a village-based model supporting stroke recovery in China, and a NIDCD study comparing three primary care protocols for older adult hearing healthcare.
S1.E9. Is Our Picture of Health Disparities Incomplete?: Importance of Inclusion in Research
Dr. Bei Wu, Ph.D., FGSA, FAGHE – Co-Director of the Aging Incubator at NYU & Director of Research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU
Dr. Bei Wu is an inaugural co-director of the Aging Incubator at New York University. She holds the position of dean’s professor in global health and director of global health and aging research at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She is also the director of research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU. As a principal investigator, she has led a significant number of projects supported by federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is leading an ongoing NIH-funded clinical trial to improve oral health for persons with cognitive impairment.
Wu is an internationally known leader in gerontology. Her career in gerontology has been distinguished by interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers in various disciplines, including nursing and dentistry, at many academic institutions and organizations in the United States and abroad. Her research areas cover a wide range of topics related to aging and global health, including oral health, long-term care, dementia, and caregiving. She has published over 400 peer-reviewed papers, books, and conference abstracts and has delivered presentations at hundreds of conferences as an invited speaker.
S1.E10. Creating a Safe Place: LATIN-19 Working Together for the Community
Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, MD, FAAFP – Co-Founder of Latin-19 & Director of Health Equity for the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke
Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi is an associate professor in Duke’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and a Family Medicine and Primary Care Physician at Duke Family Medicine Center. She has been named North Carolina’s 2021 Family Physician of the Year by the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP). The honor is the most prestigious award from the NCAFP, the state’s largest specialty medical association, comprised of more than 4,300 members. She also serves as the Director of Health Equity for the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University. She is a co-founder of the Latinx Advocacy Team & Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19, better known as LATIN-19. The group was established in March of 2020 to address inequities in the COVID-19 pandemic response, the health system in general, and communities in Central North Carolina. Dr. Martinez-Bianchi completed medical school at the National University of Rosario Faculty of Medicine in Argentina prior to coming to the United States. She completed her family medicine residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She has been on faculty at Duke for over 15 years. She is married and has one son.
S1.E11. Remarkable Research: The Community as Partners in Research
Dr. Schenita Randolph, Ph.D., MH, RN – Co-Investigator for the Duke Center for REsearch to AdvanCe Healthcare Equity (REACH Equity) & one of the Co-Directors for the Community Engagement and Dissemination Core.
Dr. Schenita Davis Randolph is an Associate Professor at Duke School of Nursing and has been a registered nurse for over 20 years. She is advancing nursing science by addressing the root causes of sexual health inequities for Black male adolescents and women. The impact of Dr. Randolph’s work addresses sexual health inequities among Black male adolescents and young adults (AYA) and Black women in the United States through community and stakeholder engagement approaches. Dr. Randolph’s research is shifting the approach to sexual health among Black AYA with the first nurse-led, parent-adolescent intervention providing tools for parents to address HIV risk transmission and racial discrimination as interrelated public health issues. She is also addressing sexual health inequities among Black women by addressing barriers to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (a medication if taken consistently decreases HIV risk) such as PrEP stigma and distrust, as PrEP uptake among Black women is low, and interventions are limited. Her work has received national attention in the popular media and has been supported by public and private funders. She has publications in peer-reviewed journals that highlight population health and community and stakeholder engagement in education and research. As Co-Director of the Community Engagement and Dissemination Core at the Duke Center for REACH Equity, a NIMHD-funded health disparities research center, she provides consultations and trains career development scholars and researchers on community engagement principles and evidence-based strategies to better engage community stakeholders in research projects. She has provided technical consultations to researchers for numerous clinical trials that have increased participation in community-engaged research and vulnerable populations. She co-developed a Community and Stakeholder Engagement course for the Duke CTSI and a COVID-19 Community Conversations series which has been utilized as a model for other researchers to engage their populations of study during the global pandemic. She is passionate about partnering with the community to address inequities in health through socially and culturally relevant strategies.
