April 30, 2015

Dr. Wizdom Powell

Dr. Wizdom Powell

Wizdom Powell, PhD, assistant professor of health behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been selected by the UNC Institute of African-American Research (IAAR) as a 2015-2016 faculty fellow. Powell, who will be a fellow in spring 2016, will examine the relationship between neighborhood conditions, stress and substance use among black males in Durham, N.C.

Her project is titled “Mapping Therapeutic Community Landscapes to Reduce Substance Abuse Risk Among Black Emerging Adult Males in Durham County.”

“We know that emerging adulthood (the period between 18 and 29 years of age) is a time when substance use/abuse escalates at a steep pace among black males,” Powell said. “Stress and poor neighborhood conditions are important catalysts for substance abuse. This project will track exposure to daily stress (e.g., racial profiling) in ‘real time’ among 18- to 29-year-old black males residing in neighborhoods characterized by high violence, alcohol and drug activity.”

Powell noted that even neighborhoods with those conditions have pockets of resilience and assets.

“We plan to map those assets also and use this combined evidence to design interventions,” she said.
“This evidence is also critical to informing policy work I am conducting in Durham County related to President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.

“We are all so proud of Wizdom and the important work that she does,” said Leslie Lytle, PhD, professor and chair of the Gillings School’s Department of Health Behavior.  “Her receiving this fellowship is further evidence of the value of her research in helping to improve the lives and health of black males.”

Frank Baumgartner, PhD, the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, was selected as a fall 2015 fellow for his project, “Police Stops in Black and White.” The project examines racial disparities in the frequency and nature of traffic stops for black and white motorists in N.C.

Both research efforts address topics relevant to current national events making an impact upon black communities and contribute to the IAAR’s research theme on “Black Communities, Well-Being and Security.” Each researcher will make a public presentation during his or her semester of residency at the IARR.

The IAAR Faculty Fellows Program is in its second year. The fellowship supports current and rigorous research by UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members pursuing studies about African-Americans and the African Diaspora.


Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu.
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