Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson

Areas of Expertise

Racial/Ethnic and Gender Disparities in Health and Health Care; Applications of Intersectionality in Policy and Research

Email: ljeffers@brandeis.edu

Current Project

Laurie will utilize womanist and critical race feminist tools to conduct an exploratory study for the development of a National Black Women’s Retreat Center which will address the physical, psychological and spiritual challenges of African-American women. She will also begin writing a book on black women’s health, and complete an article on intersectionality and research methods.

Biography

As an activist/researcher/scholar, Laurie is passionate about her son, women of color, and health and health care inequities.  Her vision for women of color is that they are content, fulfilled, healed and empowered.   Her most recent research project was to evaluate the application of a “race and gender neutral” interventions on race and gender inequities in cardiovascular disease.   Another study proposed alternative and more appropriate mechanisms to address healthcare inequities for African-American women, through innovative applications of intersectional research and policy.

Laurie is affiliated with the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy, where she teaches and conducts research.  Prior to returning to Brandeis, she was a H. Jack Geiger Congressional Fellow working with the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, addressing health issues for African-Americans. She has served as a W.K. Kellogg Fellow in Health Policy Research, the Director of Health Disparities at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, a Policy Analyst at the Civil Rights Project at Harvard, and a Research Scientist in State government.  She has consulted for several organizations on health disparities, cultural competency, workforce diversity and minority and women’s health.  She lecturers and publishes extensively on these topics.

Education

Ph.D./M.A., Brandeis University

M.P.H., Yale University

B.A., Brandeis University

Representative Publications

Nsiah-Jefferson, Laurie et al. “Reducing Racial and Ethnic health Disparities: An Outcomes Oriented Research and Policy Agenda.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 31.1 (Feb. 2006).

Nsiah-Jefferson, Laurie. “Pharmacogenomics: Considerations for Communities of Color.” Pharmacogenomics: Social, Ethical, and Clinical Dimensions. Ed. Rothstein. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2003. 267-290.