$50K Gift Enables New Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Opportunities
In August 2020, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences received a $50,000 unrestricted gift from an anonymous donor through the Rhode Island Foundation. Department leadership decided to use the gift to support pilot research projects focused on health disparities and work led by faculty members who are underrepresented in medicine, as well as other departmental initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and dismantle racism.
“This gift gave us a much-needed boost to expand our community engagement research efforts and support faculty members of color and/or those working in communities of color. It also allowed us to support several strategic planning, training and educational efforts as we work towards dismantling racism.”
— Ernestine Briggs-King, PhD, Director of DEI
Alcohol Use and Suicide
Jeremy Grove, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating suicide and frequently co-occurring conditions such as alcohol use disorder. He aspires to develop an independent research program in reducing socioeconomic disparities in suicide prevention among those with substance abuse disorders.
Treatment for Trauma-Exposed Minority Adolescents
Ernestine Briggs-King, PhD, is an associate professor and the director of DEI in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, as well as the Director of Research at Center for Child and Family Health. She’s a clinical/community psychologist with extensive experience in the fields of child maltreatment and child traumatic stress.
Dr. Briggs-King’s project is “Evaluation of a brief trauma-focused group treatment for trauma-exposed minority adolescents.” As part of a larger effort to create a trauma-informed workforce and systems of care, Dr. Briggs-King and her clinical team have completed a series of implementation efforts for mental health providers across the state of North Carolina on several evidence-based treatments.
Technology-Assisted Smoking Cessation
Sarah M. Wilson, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, an investigator at the VA Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation, and a clinical psychologist at the Durham VA Health Care System. Her research focuses on testing and implementation of interventions for substance use, psychological symptoms and health behavior change in at-risk populations.
Dr. Wilson’s project is “Evaluation of implementation strategies designed to facilitate uptake and sustainment of an evidence-based, technology-assisted smoking cessation.”
Learn more here.