CHER Associates
Jada L. Brooks, Ph.D., MSPH, R.N.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Brooks is affiliated with UNC School of Nursing and her multidisciplinary program of community-based health research focuses on reducing health disparities and improving the health of American Indian children, with a particular focus on understanding the psychosocial factors related to family management of childhood asthma. Other areas of interest include epigenetics and health services research.
Dr. Brooks’ research program advances knowledge of inflammation as a potential biological pathway linking environmental pollutant exposure and psychosocial factors to cardiovascular disease in American Indian women. Her research program is designed to inform low-cost and culturally based psychosocial interventions that seek to reduce American Indian women’s susceptibility to environmental pollutants. The goal of this work is to promote environmental health equity among American Indian women.
Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, Ph.D.
Professor, Health Policy & Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, PhD, is professor of Health Policy & Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. Her research focus is on health disparities and Alzheimer’s disease with an emphasis on building knowledge for the scientific and lay community to inform conducting culturally relevant research and disseminating information about Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders in medically under-served diverse populations.
Dr. Dilworth-Anderson has and does serve in numerous leadership roles, some of which include: President of Gerontological Society of America. Member: Global Council on Brain Health, Committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; National Alzheimer’s Association Medical and Scientific Council; Board of Directors of the National Alzheimer’s Association and Eastern North Carolina Chapter; National Research Advisory Council of the Institute on Aging/NIH.
She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and National Council on Family Relations.
Leah Frerichs, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Leah Frerichs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity Research at UNC. Frerichs is an expert in research focused on the intersection of community-based participatory research and systems science to address health inequities. Her work has spanned practice and research with an overarching goal to develop, implement and evaluate programs and policies that are grounded in community needs and values.
She has worked with a diverse range of communities on a multitude of topics including adolescent health, cancer screening, cardiovascular disease prevention, substance abuse and mental health. As a principal investigator, Frerichs has led grants funded through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anissa I. Vines, Ph.D., M.S.
CHER Associate
Anissa I. Vines, MS, PhD is a research faculty member in the department of epidemiology and co-lead of the Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights MPH degree concentration in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Vines serves as the director of the Inclusive Science Program in the NC TraCS Institute. She is also an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Vines’s research focuses on the psychosocial determinants of women’s health disparities and cancer, from prevention to survivorship in African Americans. She prioritizes using both epidemiological and community-engaged research principles and methods to frame her work. She studies an array of stressors, including the racism, and psychosocial resources guided by life course theory and frameworks. Dr. Vines has developed the Telephone-administered Perceived Racism measure for use by phone in epidemiological studies. She is currently examining the stress of racism over the life course and other stressors on the risk of uterine fibroids in African American women.
Dr. Vines has a long track record of community engagement. Her cancer disparities research employs community-engaged principles and the use of peer support. Dr. Vines leads the Outreach Core of the NCCU/UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Disparities Partnership.
Currently, Dr. Vines currently serves as multiple principal investigator of the NC research team, one of 11 research teams in 11 states that are part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities.