Sexual-Minority Health Experts
Sarah Abboud
Expert on: Reducing health disparities, improving health outcomes in sexual and gender minority individuals, social justice
Dr. Sarah Abboud is an associate professor of Nursing in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. Her research goal is to reduce health disparities by developing programs that improve health outcomes among Arab immigrants. Dr. Abboud’s work is grounded in social justice and health equity frameworks. She focuses primarily on overall health promotion, particularly sexual health, among Arab immigrants and sexual and mental health promotion among sexual and gender minority Arabs.
Natasha Crooks
Expert on: Black girls and women’s sexual and reproductive health
Dr. Natasha Crooks is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. She is a faculty affiliate at the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Crooks’ research centers on protecting the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of Black girls and women across the life course. She uses a community-engaged approach, and her findings underscore the need for greater protection of Black girls to avoid poor SRH outcomes (i.e., HIV/STIs and sexual violence). Dr. Crooks collaborates on research focused on Black maternal health outcomes and HIV outcomes among Black sex workers in Chicago.
Rohan Jeremiah
Expert on: Global public health; the intersection of substance use, violence and HIV/AIDS
Dr. Rohan D. Jeremiah is an internationally recognized scholar in global public health, applied medical anthropology, and health equity. As professor and associate dean for global health at the UIC College of Nursing, his expertise lies at the intersection of culture, health and healing, with a distinct focus on substance use, violence, trauma and HIV/AIDS. His research aims to advance the health and well-being of racial, ethnic, and gender minority populations, particularly minority men, by developing and implementing culturally responsive, community-engaged public health interventions.
With more than two decades of experience across academic, policy, and community sectors, Dr. Jeremiah’s methodological expertise spans qualitative research, community-based participatory research (CBPR), implementation science, and program evaluation, approaches that guide the development and assessment of equity-focused health initiatives. He has led multiple research projects and provided technical support to multilateral agencies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America.
Kylea Liese
Expert on: Maternal health disparities, structural racism in health care, abortion care, implementation science, health care delivery science
Dr. Kylea Liese is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. She is a medical anthropologist and certified nurse-midwife. Her research is at the intersection of anthropology, nursing, and public health. She investigates the impacts of social upheaval on disparities in maternal morbidity using mixed-methodological approaches. Dr. Liese’s conceptualizes her research program as part of a broader effort in applied health and social sciences to contextualize epidemiological data. She seeks to anchor disparities sexual and reproductive health in social, environmental, and biomedical factors.
Randi Singer
Expert on: Implementation science, participatory research and sexual health equity
Dr. Randi Singer is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science and a Certified Nurse-Midwife with over 15 years of experience in sexual and reproductive health. Grounded in community engagement and driven by a commitment to health equity, Dr. Singer’s research focuses on advancing health systems innovations to support STI/HIV prevention among those who have been deprioritized. She specializes in participatory approaches with communities often excluded from traditional research, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), those engaged in the sex trade, LGBTQIA+ individuals, both pregnant and non-pregnant, and minority youth. Dr. Singer aims to transform health care delivery through implementation science and equitable research partnerships.