Research Areas
- Health and Social Inequities
- Racism and Disease Risk/Progression
- Racial Discrimination and Group Identity
- Inflammation and Biological/Cell Aging
- Embodiment of Stress
His research focuses on social determinants of health inequities and the embodiment of racism. He studies racism as a social-environmental toxin that shapes the inequitable population-level distribution of disease. As part of this work, he investigates the interplay between social context, developmental period, behavior, and biology, and links to disease susceptibility and progression.
The Society, Health, and Racial Equity (SHARE) Lab serves as a forum for research on health and social equity, and the role of racism in generating and perpetuating injustices in health. As part of this work, we examine multiple ecological levels of influence on health—ranging from broader social forces to the cellular level—using a developmental lens. We examine their interplay in relation to health inequities, which are conceptualized as unjust patterns in the population-level distribution of disease that are avoidable and preventable. Our research addresses underlying social inequities that give rise to poor health outcomes in communities that have been discriminated against, marginalized, and excluded.
Research Projects
- Uncovering COVID-19 Experiences and Realities (UnCOVER) Study
- Black Women’s Experiences Living with Lupus (BeWELL) Study
- Psychobiology of Racial Minority Stress and Cellular Aging
- Macon Lives Healthier Study