Congratulations to our newest cohort of Interdisciplinary Research Leaders!
Announcing the 2019 IRL Teams!
These 15 teams of researchers and community leaders will spend the next three years (2019-2022) working together to explore critical issues in their home communities and apply findings in real time to create healthier and more equitable policies and places to live.
Research Theme: Community Development and Health
While there is evidence that the most impactful community development investments have improved a community’s built and social environments, the relationship between community development and health remains largely unexplored or rigorously evaluated. This IRL research theme aims to generate research to support community development for health.
2019 IRL Teams, Location and Fellows:
- Team Arizona: Lauren Ross, Vjollca Berisha, and Diana Hernández
Project Title: Energy Insecurity and Public Health: Going Further through Cross- Sector Collaboration - Team East Baltimore: Marisela Gomez, Sabriya Linton, and Dorcas Gilmore
Project Title: Building financial literacy, community assets, and health: a model for equitable community development - Team Los Angeles: Luisa Blanco, April Thames, and Isaias Hernandez
Project Title: Mind your Money - Team Mississippi: Mina Para Matlon, Erica Kohl-Arenas, and Carlton Turner
Project Title: Reimagining Food Access to Build Community Health and Agency in Utica, MS - Team Raleigh: Traci Rider, Aaron Hipp, and Kia Baker
Project Title: Aligning health and built environment assessment frameworks in community development - Team Rural South: Ines Polonius, Corianne Scally, and Alison Davis
Project Title: Investing in Water and Waste-Water Systems to Reduce Health and Economic Inequalities in the Rural South - Team Tacoma: Pooja Tandon, Kathleen Wolf, and Cary Simmons
Project Title: Leveraging Greener Schoolyards for Better Health
Research Theme: Clinical Practices, Social Services and Health
Both medical services and social factors play central roles in determining the health status of individuals and populations. Yet there is insufficient knowledge of, and coordination between, clinical practice and social services, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized populations. This IRL research theme aims to generate community-engaged research on solutions for better integration and alignment of clinical practice and social service systems.
2019 IRL Teams, Location and Fellows:
- Team Bootheel MO: Elizabeth Baker, Janice Ballard, and Carissa van den Berk-Clark
Project Title: Building blocks and tearing down fences: creating integrated and equitable systems of care for rural communities - Team Chicago: Anne Rufa, Evelyn Coker, and Harold Pollack
Project Title: Neighboring with Intention: Strengthening Communities with Trauma-Informed Care - Team Dearborn, MI: Carlos Mendes de Leon, Minal Patel, and Madiha Tariq
Project Title: Integrating social determinants of health into clinical services for the Arab American and immigrant community - Team Fort Peck MT: Elizabeth Rink, Monica Skewes, and Adriann Ricker
Project Title: Wichoabdeza: Trauma-informed policy change to improve health in a tribal community - Team Louisiana: Bruce Reilly, Andrea Armstrong, and Ashley Wennerstrom
Project Title: Examining the effects of carceral exposure on health services use: Implications for policy and service coordination - Team Maine: Patricia Kimball, Stuart Lewis, and Zach Gassoumis
Project Title: Making the Mandate Work: Reducing Disparities by Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Reporting Elder Abuse to Adult Protective Services - Team Philadelphia: Melissa Dichter, Ashlee Murray, and Jessica Palardy
Project Title: Centering Survivor Voices to Improve Medical-Community Partnerships Addressing Intimate Partner Violence - Team Pittsburgh: Tammy Hughes, Tiffany Sizemore, and Jeffrey Shook
Project Title: Improving Juvenile Indigent Defense and Health through Holistic Representation
Congratulations to our newest cohort of Interdisciplinary Research Leaders! Please join us in welcoming these diverse and remarkable leaders. Every Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (IRL) team consists of three people– two researchers and one community partner working on an applied research project to build a culture of health.
To learn more about IRL, our 45 research teams currently in action and our 15 alumni teams,
visit IRLeaders.org.
