All our full-time faculty are engaged in research activities and provide students with the opportunity to understand the importance of the research process, hone their research skills, gain greater job readiness for research assistantships, and increase their competitiveness for post-graduate studies. Examples of these research activities include the following:
- NCCU–Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI)/UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Institute U 54 Partnership grant to establish a public health traineeship program (PARTNERS). Its continued success results from collaboration between the two universities as well as leadership from two CHAS departments co-directed by Dr. LaHoma Romocki and Dr. Wendy Heck-Grillo (Biological and Biomedical Sciences). In 2023, three public health education students received the public health internship stipends and had the opportunity to participate in conferences and work with research faculty, to gain more exposure and research experiences. Visit NCCU BBRI.
- Dr. Seronda Robinson's work centers around community-engaged research addressing health disparities and workforce development to increase diversity in STEM fields. In addition to serving as a professor and epidemiologist in the Department of Public Health Education, she also serves as the CORE lead for the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Community Engagement Core (CEC) and the NC Diversity Inclusion Pathway Program (NC DIPP) in collaboration with the UNC Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), which provides research opportunities for students.
- Dr. LaShawn Wordlaw (LEADS/CERI) conducts research on "Heart Healthy U: A Pilot amid a Pandemic, " centered on a multimedia on-campus campaign to increase awareness about the importance of heart health among students. Heart Healthy U focuses on nutrition and physical activity. Although compromised due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign was updated to include psychological well-being/stress management and the consequences of physical distancing, social isolation, and stay-at-home orders.
- Dr. Cherise Harrington co-leads NCCU’s Center for Health Disparities Research and leads two projects: BeFAB-HBCU Multi-dimensional Approach to Address Excess Weight and Pre-diabetes Health Disparities in Young Adults. She received a National Science Foundation grant to conduct key formative work to inform the development of a program designed to improve the recruitment and retention of rural students of color in STEM-based degrees and coursework.
- Dr. Deborah Fortune’s research focuses on HIV on college campuses, and she has conducted several studies to broaden our understanding of behavior that leads to HIV infection and ways to prevent infection.
PHE (Public Health Education) faculty continue to build extensive research portfolios and produce scholarly works as exhibited by the following achievements:
- 8 manuscripts published
- 3 manuscripts submitted
- 6 grants submitted
- 8 grants pending
- 4 editorial board members