Fairness First Blog
Voices in health equity
The Fairness First blog is an online publication focusing on health equity topics and the people behind health equity research and partnerships. Readers will find short discussions, interviews, and stories from community members, researchers, and students. Contributors share stories about themselves, how they connect to their work, and why health equity research matters.
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Empoderando Voces Comunitarias: Colaboración y Abogacía para y por las Familias Inmigrantes
Empowering Community Voices: Collaboration and Advocacy for and by Immigrant Families
En conmemoración del Mes de la Herencia Hispana, damos la bienvenida a los participantes del Programa de Apoyo a la Asociación Comunitaria del Campus (Community Campus Partnership Support-CCPS), la Dra. Leah Mundell y Roxana Cardiel. En esta asociación, el equipo ha estado trabajando para unir a las comunidades a través de la organización escolar y vecinal, y esfuerzos de desarrollo de capacidad. Involucran a estudiantes, líderes comunitarios y familias inmigrantes en esta organización y abogacía para trabajar con las escuelas locales en la resolución de problemas como el acceso al idioma para las familias y estudiantes de habla hispana. Leer más en Dra. Mundell and Cardiel’s estudio…
In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, we welcome Community Campus Partnership Support (CCPS) Program participants Dr. Leah Mundell and Roxana Cardiel. In this partnership, the team has been working to bring communities together through school-based and neighborhood organizing, and capacity-building efforts. They engage students, community leaders, and immigrant families in this organizing and advocacy to work with local schools to address issues such as language access for Spanish speaking families and students. Read more on Dr. Mundell and Cardiel’s research…
Celebrating Collaboration: Creative Partnership
Weaving together clinical education and patient care
This month we welcome Community Campus Partnership Support (CCPS) Program participants Dr. Holly Carroll and Heather Murray and two students, Alexandria Calca and Ian Splittorff. Longtime collaborators, Holly and Heather worked together over the past year to identify opportunities to increase access to healthcare for underserved people in Arizona and engage students in career paths that provide healthcare to people in underserved communities. Alex and Ian discuss their experiences as students working in the HUG Clinic and organizing an event (Healthy for HUG) to provide educational resources to community members. Read more on Dr. Carroll and Murray’s research…
Creating Good Days
A discussion with the researchers from the Healthy Aging Lab
In honor of Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, we spoke with researchers from NAU’s Healthy Aging Lab. Led by Dr. Eric Cerino, the members of the Healthy Aging Lab conduct community-focused research that promotes wellbeing throughout the later years of life. Read more on Eric’s research…
Using Play to Address Health Inequities
A discussion with researchers from the Playful Health Technology Lab
This month we’re observing Speech-Language-Hearing Month. Organized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, May is a time to encourage dialogue and share resources about communication disorders and the role speech-language pathologists and audiologists play in providing care. This month’s blog features researchers and students at the Playful Health Technology Lab, led by Dr. Jared Duval. Applying a holistic approach to health and play, the team creates technologies to meet the needs identified by the communities they engage with. Read more on Jared’s research …
Improving Women’s Health During and After Incarceration
A Conversation with Interdisciplinary Health PhD Candidate Rebecca Annorbah
April is Second Chance Month. This yearly observance draws attention to opportunities, programs, and services from state, tribally-based, and community-based organizations that support people as they return to their communities after incarceration. In this post we feature Interdisciplinary Health PhD candidate Rebecca Annorbah, who uses community-engaged approaches to evaluate a reentry program. One of the project’s goals is to identify areas for improving health outcomes for women. Read more on Rebecca’s Research …
Celebrating Women in STEM
A Discussion with PMI’s Dr. Emily Cope, Katie Conn, Daisy Barroso, and Jaliyah McNeil
In recognition of International Women’s Day, this month’s post features four researchers from Dr. Emily Cope’s laboratory at NAU’s Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI). Female researchers experience a variety of obstacles in the workplace, including inequitable funding, harassment, and lower pay – as well as social and educational barriers before they reach college. inequities in STEM opportunities at younger ages. This post celebrates the accomplishments of female researchers at NAU and explores their experiences as women in STEM. Read more on Celebrating Women in STEM …
Addressing wellness in Navajo schools and promoting Native American representation in health sciences
A Q&A with Professor Regina Eddie
In this post we feature Dr. Regina Eddie, associate professor in NAU’s College of Nursing. Regina discusses how her research and work with Navajo Nation elementary and middle schools address school health and wellness through a health equity lens. Read Regina’s Blog …
Student Researchers Spotlight: Alexandra Olin
Alexandra Olin
In this post we feature Alexandra Olin. Alexandra serves as a graduate research assistant for SHERC’s Community Engagement Core, where she has dedicated two years to her role, beginning during her undergraduate studies.
Alexandra Olin holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health from Northern Arizona University and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Public Health with a focus on health promotion. Read Alex’s Blog …
How the dynamics between LGBTQ2S+ individuals and their peers in senior living communities affects LGBTQ2S+ care access with Megan McCoy
Dr. Megan McCoy
In this post we feature a partnership between NAU’s Dr. Megan McCoy and Tena Alonzo of Beatitudes Campus, located in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. McCoy responds to questions about how she and Tena are using funding from SHERC’s Community Campus Partnership Support Program to explore aging experiences of members of the LGBTQ2S+ community in Arizona. Read Dr. McCoy’s blog …
Native Spirit: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally grounded after-school program with Amanda Hunter
Dr. Amanda Hunter
In this post, we feature Dr. Amanda Hunter. Dr. Hunter’s project “Native Spirit: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally grounded after-school program,” was funded through SHERC’s Pilot Project Program. Read more …
Introducing Caroline Mende, SHERC’s New Research Coordinator
Caroline Mende
Caroline Mende is a new Research Coordinator with SHERC’s Community Engagement Core. In this role, Caroline coordinates the Community-Campus Partnership Support Program and the Fairness First Campaign, and is using her background in anthropology to support a cultural consensus modeling project that will examine how people throughout Arizona think about healthy communities and needs. Read more …
SHERC Community Expert Board Spotlight: Kalvina Belin
Why I advocate for early childhood health and education in Arizona as a tribal liaison
Kalvina Belin, MPH
We are pleased to begin spotlighting members of the new SHERC Community Expert Board as we continue featuring health fairness leaders, researchers, and advocates throughout the Southwest through the Fairness First Blog. Read more …
SHERC Community Expert Board Spotlight: Jon Meyers
Advocating for Arizonans with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Jon Meyers
Jon Meyers is a member of the Community Expert Board for the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC) at Northern Arizona University. Read more …
Organisms, chemical environments and health
Matt Salanga, PhD
Matt Salanga is an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences. His research is focused on understanding how organisms interact with their chemical environments in ways that affect development and health. Read more …
Vaccine design, health disparities and public health research
Naomi Lee, PhD
Naomi Lee is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and affiliated faculty of the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative, the Native American Cancer Prevention partnership, and Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications. Her research focuses on novel vaccine development Read more …
Health equity and infectious diseases
Jason Ladner, PhD
Jason Ladner is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute. His research uses technologies in biology to study infectious diseases. Ladner has recently helped to develop a new approach for understanding Read more …
Health equity, climate, wildlife and human disease systems
Joseph Mihaljevic, PhD
Joseph Mihaljevic is an assistant professor in the Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems. His current research spans wildlife and human disease systems, where he uses data and math to better understand and predict the spread of infectious disease. Read more …
Healthy soils and health equity
Anita Antoninka, PhD
Anita Antoninka is an assistant research professor in the School of Forestry. Her research focus is soil ecology, community ecology, mycorrhizae, biocrust, soil invertebrates, soil nutrients, and restoration. Read more …
Health equity, disease and gut microbiome
Emily Cope, PhD
Emily Cope earned her BS and PhD at Northern Arizona University. Recently, she entered the field of Alzheimer’s disease where she and a team of scientists are measuring how microbes in the gut Read more …
Health equity and Valley fever
Bridget Barker, PhD
Bridget Barker is a research-intensive tenured professor at NAU. Her research focus is the ecology/genomics of human pathogens Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii. Read more …
Health equity for children with special health care needs
Olivia Lindly, PhD, MPH
Olivia Lindly is passionate about advancing health equity for children with special health care needs and their families. In 2019, she joined NAU’s Department of Health Sciences. Prior to NAU, she completed the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Postdoctoral Fellowship Read more …
Health equity and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Heather Williamson, PhD
Heather Williamson is an associate professor in NAU’s Department of Occupational Therapy and the Center for Health Equity Research. She worked as an occupational therapist with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities Read more …
How do wildfires affect health equity?
Catrin Edgeley, PhD
Catrin Edgeley is an Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Sociology in NAU’s School of Forestry. Her research focuses on wildfire social science, including how communities adapt to wildfire risk and impacts Read more …
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