The 2024 Philip Farrell Alumni Lecturer is Abiola Keller, Associate Professor in the Marquette University School of Nursing and Director of the CREATE Health Lab. She will be speaking on Elevating Community Voices to Advance Health Equity.
An abstract, summary, or learning goals
Authentic community engagement requires communities and researchers to work as equal partners. However, the voice of those most impacted by health inequities are often not effectively integrated into programs and interventions. The purpose of this session is to examine approaches for capturing the experiences and perceptions of community members as it relates to their individual and community health and wellbeing. We will also discuss ways community voice can influence strategies to advance health equity.
Bio
Dr. Abiola Keller is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and director of the CREATE Health Lab at Marquette University. As a health equity researcher, she works with local communities to design, implement, and evaluate interventions to improve health outcomes, particularly for African American women caregivers. Her commitment to research aimed at achieving health equity has been recognized through receipt of a National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment award and selection as a Health Disparities Research Scholar by the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities. Additionally, she has received research funding through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections program, the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation Dr. Judith Stitt Woman Faculty Scholar Grant, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation.
Dr. Keller co-chairs the Milwaukee Coalition for African American Caregivers and also chairs the Near West Side Partners Healthy Community working team where she leads efforts to develop strategies for assessing and improving the social determinant of health and advancing health equity within the seven neighborhoods of Milwaukee’s Near West Side. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors for the Burke Foundation and Meta House and is a member of the Cream City (WI) chapter of the Links Incorporated.
Dr. Keller received her Ph.D. in population health sciences and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, received a T32 pre-doctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA), and a NRSA T32 post-doctoral award as a health disparities research scholar. In addition, she holds a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree from the University of Iowa. She completed her undergraduate studies in biomedical sciences at Marquette University, where she was elected to Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities.
