Enrique Neblett, professor of health behavior and health equity at the School of Public Health, has been appointed director of the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center, also known as the Detroit URC.
Neblett previously served as associate director of the center, which is housed in SPH, and became director Sept. 1.
“I am honored to serve as the next director of the Detroit URC and extend my gratitude to founding member and outgoing director Barbara Israel,” he said.
“Together with the Detroit URC Board and affiliated partnerships, we will continue our firm commitment to fostering and supporting partnerships, building capacity for community-based participatory research, and promoting policy change, with a focus on improving the health of Detroit’s residents.
“At a time when residents of the city continue not to share equally in social resources, opportunities and health status, our mission of promoting health equity in Detroit, through (community-based participatory research), is critical.”
Neblett is a leading scholar in the area of racism and health, studying the impact of racism on the mental and physical health of African American youth. His work has been funded by leading research organizations and foundations, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Established in 1995, the Detroit URC’s mission is to enhance understanding of the relationship between the social and physical environmental determinants of health, and translate that knowledge into public health interventions, programs and policies aimed at promoting health equity in Detroit.
Neblett succeeds Israel, professor emerita of health behavior and health equity. Israel is a prominent expert in community-based participatory research and one of the founding members of the center. She was director from 1995 until her retirement earlier this year.
In addition to Neblett’s appointment, Katrina Ellis, associate professor of social work in the School of Social Work, and associate professor of health behavior and health equity at SPH, was appointed as the center’s associate director.
