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Disparity Disruptors

Chandra Jackson

Researched how social and environmental factors drive racial disparities in sleep and metabolic health.

Mona Hanna-Attisha

Exposed lead poisoning in Flint, championed public health initiatives for vulnerable children.

Lola Fayanju

Focused on reducing racial disparities in breast-cancer outcomes and treatment delays among Black women.

Nadine Burke Harris

Tackled childhood trauma and toxic stress, highlighting disproportionate impacts on Black and low-income children.

Adrian Aguilera

Pioneered Text-Based Mental Health Support for Low-Income Latinx Communities

Rachel Robins

Pioneered Research on Postpartum Depression in Black New York Mothers.

David Satcher

Championed eliminating racial health disparities, especially infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, and care for minorities.

Aswita Tan-McGrory

Translated Health Equity Research Into Practice for Hospitals and Health Systems Nationally.

Marcella Nunez-Smith

Worked to eliminate COVID-19 and healthcare inequities affecting Black, Latino, and other marginalized communities through research and policy leadership.

Wallace Torres

Developed a virtual care platform to reduce autoimmune-care inequities among Hispanic and Latino patients.

Harriet Washington

Exposed racism’s historic and ongoing impact on Black health through research, writing, and advocacy.

Renee Brady-Nicholls

Reduced cancer inequities by developing mathematical models of treatment differences, especially among Black and white prostate-cancer patients.

Diane Mahoney

Investigated social-determinant and survivorship disparities among Black and Hispanic ovarian cancer survivors.

Rhea Boyd

Advanced equity by addressing police violence as a health issue and improving COVID-19 vaccine access for Black and Brown communities.

Chandra Ford

Focused on how racism—not race itself—drives health inequities, especially among Black and other racially minoritized populations.

Otis Brawley

Fought cancer inequities by exposing delayed diagnoses and poorer treatment among Black patients and underserved communities.

Marcella Aslan

Researched medical mistrust, showing racially concordant physicians boost preventive care among Black men.

Barney Morris

Championed prostate-cancer awareness and care equity, focusing on preventing late diagnoses among Black men.

Sinisa Dovat

Investigated genetic drivers of childhood leukemia and developed targeted therapies to reduce striking disparities affecting Hispanic/Latino children.

Eliseo Pérez-Stable

Improved tobacco-cessation and chronic-disease outcomes among Latino communities and other underserved groups.

Lisa Cooper

Pioneered interventions improving doctor-patient communication and community engagement to reduce racial health inequities.

Kizzmekia Corbett

Helped develop mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and worked to build vaccine trust in Black communities.

Paola Gonzalez

Championed bilingual, culturally responsive oncology care and improved health access for Latino communities facing resource barriers.

Aletha Maybank

Confronted Medical Racism, Leads Historic Equity Reckoning for Black Americans.

Joseph Mikhael

Advanced equity in blood-cancer care by targeting dramatic outcome and treatment disparities in multiple myeloma among Black and Latino patients.

Rebekka Walker

Addressed racial health disparities by researching food insecurity, diabetes, and policy interventions for equity.

Kelvin Choi

Addressed smoking-cessation disparities and tobacco use prevention among Asian American and other immigrant populations.

Utibe Essien

Championed “Pharmacoequity” to Combat Medication Disparities Affecting Black Patients.

Gloria D. Coronado

Developed low-cost screening interventions to boost colorectal cancer detection in underserved Latino and rural populations.

Danielle Shpiner

Focused on reducing disparities in advanced-care planning and treatment access among Hispanic and female patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Dinee Simpson

Created First Program Addressing Black Patients’ Barriers to Lifesaving Organs

Jungyoon Kim

Examined racial disparities in cancer-clinical trials by highlighting much lower awareness and participation among Black survivors.

Alyson Shirley

Advanced Indigenous health by providing mobile HIV/STI testing, education, and culturally responsive interventions.

Robert A. Winn

Leading voice for ensuring that health breakthroughs reach all communities.

Tiffany Green

Studied racial and immigrant-status inequities in maternal and infant health, especially affecting Black and immigrant mothers.

John Carpten

Investigated cancer genomics to explain higher rate and mortality from prostate cancer among Black men and other underserved populations.

Wendy Bennett

Advanced programs improving postpartum weight and diabetes prevention for Black and low-income women.

Arline Geronimus

Developed the “weathering” theory, showing chronic racism caused early health decline, especially in Black mothers and infants.

Lauren McCullough

Studied how obesity and neighborhood deprivation drive breast-cancer outcome disparities among underserved populations.

Tamara Cadet

Addressed cancer screening disparities among older adults, especially in underserved populations.

Otis Brawley

Developed cancer screening strategies for effectiveness across diverse populations.

Denise Dillard

Led community-engaged research on behavioral health, chronic disease, and trauma among Alaska Native and American Indian populations.

David Williams

Focused on impacts of daily discrimination, which contribute to poor health.

Howard Koh

Advanced equity by improving cancer prevention, tobacco control, and health access for Black, Asian, and other underserved communities.

Kemi Doll

Improved diagnosis, treatment, and advocacy for Black women with endometrial cancer facing delayed care.

Kafui Dzirasa

Increased neuroscience research inclusivity and highlighted exclusion of African-ancestry data in mental-health studies.

Avonne Connor

Studied breast-cancer outcomes among African-American, Hispanic and underserved women and the factors that contribute to unequal outcomes.

Margarita Alegría

Advanced equity by improving mental-health access and culturally appropriate care for Latino and other underserved populations.

Jamie Studts

Tackled lung-cancer screening inequities by creating decision aids and outreach tools for underserved, high-risk populations.

Wizdom Powell

Focused on reducing health inequities among African American men by examining how racism and masculinity norms impede help-seeking.

Eraka Bath

Improved mental-health services and justice-system support for foster-care and juvenile-justice-involved youth from marginalized communities.

Marcia Cruz-Correa

Led efforts to reduce colorectal and hereditary cancer disparities among Hispanic and Puerto Rican populations.

David R. Williams

Illuminated how structural racism harms health, documenting worse outcomes for Black Americans and other marginalized groups.

J.C. Abdul-Mutakabbir

Led vaccine equity efforts among Black and Hispanic communities, specifically combating COVID-19 vaccine inequity.

Linda Villarosa

Exposed racism’s role in health, highlighting systemic causes of Black health inequities nationwide.

Esperanza Diaz

Founded a Hispanic Psychiatry Fellowship and expanded mental-health services tailored for Latinos with limited English proficiency.

Vanessa Sheppard

Improved treatment access, survivorship support, and clinical-trial participation for Black women with breast cancer.

Mary Bassett

Centered her work on structural racism’s impact on Black, Latinx and Indigenous communities’ health outcomes.

Crystal Cené

Focused on reducing cardiovascular and chronic-care disparities among under-served populations through social-determinants research.

Camara Phyllis Jones

Advanced health equity by exposing racism’s role in poorer health outcomes for Black and other marginalized communities.

Dana Sherrod

Built California’s First Statewide Black Birth Justice Movement.

Tesa Anewishki

Led a West Side safety-net hospital where she combats diabetes, food insecurity and access issues for Black and Brown patients.

John Ayanian

Worked to uncover and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare quality and outcomes, particularly among Black versus White patients.

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