Enrique Neblett, a professor of health behavior and health equity at the School of Public Health, is now leading the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center, known as the Detroit URC. He stepped into the role as director on Sept. 1, having previously served as the associate director.
“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,” Neblett expressed.
Under his leadership, Neblett aims to strengthen partnerships, enhance community-based participatory research, and drive policy changes to improve Detroit’s health equity. “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,” he stated.
Neblett, a prominent scholar in racism and health, has focused his research on the effects of racism on the mental and physical health of African American youth. His work is supported by institutions like the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Detroit URC, established in 1995, dedicates itself to understanding how social and physical environments affect health, transforming this knowledge into public health interventions and policies that promote health equity in Detroit.
Neblett takes over from Barbara Israel, a professor emerita and notable figure in community-based participatory research, who directed the center since its founding until her recent retirement.
Alongside Neblett, Katrina Ellis, an associate professor at the School of Social Work and SPH, has been appointed as the associate director of the center.
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