Associate Professor of Family Science Mia Smith-Bynum (she/her) identifies as a scholar-activist, harnessing her personal experience as a Black woman and vast research expertise to dismantle racism and improve African American mental health. As the director of the Black Families Research Group, an affiliate of the Center for Health Equity and an investigator with the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center (UMD-PRC), Dr. Smith-Bynum has quickly emerged as a necessary and leading figure in psychology and family science.
A national survey of LGBTQ+ college students conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic finds that large numbers are struggling with substance use, psychological distress, and social isolation. The survey was led by doctoral student John P. Salerno (behavioral and community health) and the LGBTQ+ Students and Allies in Public Health organization.
Associate Professor Typhanye Dyer and Assistant Research Professor Rodman Turpin conducted two studies on the role of syndemics—combinations of adverse social, structural and individual factors—on health outcomes among Black sexual minority men and transgender women in the US.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased risk factors for child maltreatment. A group of researchers, including Assistant Professor Elizabeth Aparicio in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, drafted a policy brief to urge policymakers to adapt existing child and family services and policies to ensure the safety, resilience, and overall well-being of vulnerable children and families in the face of increased stressors.
Two experts in LGBTQ and young adult mental health, Dr. Jessica Fish (UMD SPH) and Dr. Stephen T. Russel (UT, Austin) describe the serious harms that LGBTQ youth experience from so-called “conversion therapy” efforts in a new editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health.
We, the undersigned members of LGBTQ+ Students and Allies in Public Health (LGBTQ-SAPH), strongly denounce police brutality and impunity against Black communities and, more broadly, racism and white supremacy in all their societal manifestations. We unequivocally express our support of the Black community, and all other communities of color demanding justice.
