Building Health and Resilience Research Capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast: A Workshop Series

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Addressing the complex challenges to increased extreme weather impacts on communities in the Gulf Coast region requires connected and interdisciplinary approaches, in addition to strong institutional partnerships. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) bring essential community knowledge, research expertise, and long-standing regional engagement that can enhance the design and implementation of public health and resilience strategies in preparation for future climate emergencies.

To explore ways to strengthen partnerships and address institutional barriers in the Gulf region, the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on February 20, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Workshop participants explored opportunities for HBCUs and MSIs to expand their leadership in community-engaged research on extreme weather events and environmental stressors on human health and resilience. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Publication information

14 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99524-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/29216

Suggested citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Building Health and Resilience Research Capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast: Elevating Partnerships: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Berneece S. Herbert

Dr. Berneece Herbert is the chair of the Department of Urban & Regional Planning at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. She has a doctoral degree in natural resource management and a master’s in Urban & Regional Planning. Dr. Herbert is a results-oriented and people-centered professional with over 20 years of practice, academic, and research experience in higher education and training, community development, strategic planning and management, public sector investment planning, and policy formulation. Her research areas include urban health indicators, sustainable development, and social equity, with a specific focus on food security, poverty and hunger, climate change, energy, and public perception. Her technical skills include spatial analysis, vulnerability analyses, and resiliency mapping. Her recent grants have focused on advancing solar energy, green infrastructure, heat mitigation, energy burdens, and community empowerment in underserved and under-represented communities. She has led projects sponsored by agencies such as FEMA, USDA, INROADS, Clean Energy States Alliance, and Jobs to Move America. Her ultimate goal at JSU is to educate and train students to be highly knowledgeable, competent, and innovative thinkers and leaders who will utilize and leverage their knowledge and skills to build healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities.

Shamarial Roberson

Dr. Shamarial Roberson is the Chief Executive Officer of the DSR Public Health Foundation, Incorporated, and President of Health and Human Services for Indelible Business Solutions. She previously served as Deputy Secretary of Health for the Florida Department of Health during Covid-19, overseeing statewide public health and health equity efforts.
Dr. Roberson specializes in public health strategy, epidemiology, and biostatistics, with a strong focus on improving health outcomes in communities. Her leadership and expertise have been instrumental in advancing public health initiatives in Florida by partnering with community partners including Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to public health and is a member of several professional organizations dedicated to health and human services. Dr. Roberson earned a Doctor of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Health Policy from Florida State University, and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological Science and Family and Child Science from Florida State University.

Mona N. Fouad

Mona Fouad, MD, MPH is Professor of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Endowed Chair for Cancer Disparity Research, Director of the Minority Health and Health Equity Center, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Senior Associate Dean for Access and Engagement in the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Fouad is recognized nationally as a leader in health disparities research and served as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities from 2008-2012. In 2017, Dr. Fouad was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She was selected as the UAB 2018 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for advancing the frontiers of science and outstanding contributions to education, research and public service. In 2022, Dr. Fouad was awarded the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare which is awarded to outstanding immigrant healthcare professionals in the United States. Dr. Fouad obtained her MD from Alexandria University School of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt, and her MPH from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. Dr. Fouad’s career at UAB began in 1991 and has focused on the health of minority and underserved populations, including efforts to increase involvement of special and underrepresented populations in research.

Lance M. Hallberg

Dr. Hallberg is the Program Director for Environmental & Public Health Education & Engagement (UTMB) and Deputy Director of the Community Engagement Core (Baylor-Rice Superfund program) and member of the Gulf Coast Center Precision Environmental Health. He has been a biomedical researcher for over 30 years serving as a PI and manages the UTMB Inhalation Toxicology Core.
Dr. Hallberg’s research interest includes the impact of the environment on human health, DNA repair mechanisms, and use of animal models for inhaled toxicants. His recent contributions include investigating the effects of diesel exhaust from new technology diesel engines and working with a Houston community superfund site to assess exposure to perchloroethylene in groundwater. Dr. Hallberg is active in Disaster Research Response sponsored by NIEHS. Dr. Hallberg is a current member of the Society of Toxicology and the Lone Star Society of Toxicology. He was awarded the Elias Hochman Research Award and Interviewed for his work with the Jones Road Superfund community on groundwater contamination. Dr. Hallberg entered the University of Texas at El Paso earning a B.S. in 1986, an M.S. in 1990 in biology. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Division of Environmental Toxicology in 1997.

Aurelia Jones-Taylor

For the past 36 years, Aurelia Jones-Taylor has served as Chief Executive Officer of Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Inc., a rural Federally Qualified Health Center located in the Mississippi delta. Her career spans several decades gaining experience and leadership experience in state government, public transportation, health care and community development.
An experienced grant writer, she has developed several innovative programs addressing Social Drivers of Health and health disparities impacting underserved populations regionally and statewide. Working with the University of Mississippi Center for Population Health, Harvard T.H. CHAN School of Public Health, and Dreyfus Health Foundation, she has participated on several research project addressing childhood obesity, breast feeding initiatives, teen pregnancy prevention, family economic security and Building New Pathways to a Healthier Mississippi. She has made presentations at numerous workshops and conferences and co-authored several publications. She is the recipient of The Aaron Shirley Distinguished Indigent Care Award, The National Association of Community Health Center John Gilbert Award, Tougaloo College Hall of Fame, Effective Leadership as president of Community health Center Association of Mississippi, Clarksdale Citizen of the Year, Congressman Bennie Thompson’s nomination to the 118th Congressional Record and many others. Ms. Jones-Taylor serves on professional boards that include public education, financial institutions, nonprofits, healthcare and networks. She received an appointment as Associate Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Meharry Medical College while working to develop a Residency in Family Medicine at Aaron E. Henry CHC. Aurelia Jones-Taylor completed undergraduate studies in Mathematics earning a BS degree from Tougaloo College, an MBA in Finance from Jackson State University and a Certificate in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Erin Lynch

Dr. Erin Lynch, CRA currently serves as President of Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, an educational research non-profit that serves Minority Serving Institutions through technical assistance and capacity development support as well as research. Prior to QEM, she served as Associate Provost of Research, Scholarship, and Innovation/Dean of Graduate School/ Endowed Professor of Education at Winston-Salem State University, a public HBCU in North Carolina. She is a trained social scientist in intervention and organizational development with expertise in strategic planning, program evaluation, and equity-centered research design. She serves as a speaker on MSI and HBCU Research & Development ecosystem development. She was recently selected as the Alumni Innovator of the Year for the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (H.E.L.F), the leading leadership program for the placement of HBCU presidents. She has also served as Co-Chair to the NASEM committee for the Development of a Plan to Promote Defense Research at HBCUs, TCUs, HSIs, & Other Minority Institutions; Governance Board Member to the EDUCAUSE CourseGateway Platform program in digital learning equity; member of the American Council of Education, Social & Economic Mobility Index Development Technical Review Panel; and former member of the Complete College America HBCU Digital Learning Advisory Board.

Briana H. Salas

Dr. Briana Hauff Salas is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Hauff Salas is a marine scientist whose research looks at acclimatization potential of coral through assessing variability in the stress response of their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae. Dr. Hauff Salas is the project director of the TExAS FAST program, funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA; $5 million), co-project director of the EcoJEDI program, also funded by NIFA ($1 million), and a member of the International Coral Reef Society. Dr. Hauff Salas holds a BS in Environmental Studies from Binghamton University, a MS in Environmental Science from Pace University, and a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Michigan State University. Postdoctoral training was completed at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio in the Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Molecular Genetics.

Paul B. Tchounwou

Dr. Paul Tchounwou serves as Dean of the School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (SCMNS) at Morgan State University (MSU) where he oversees and guides the progressive development of SCMNS’ research, education, and training programs. He is the PI/PD of RCMI Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation at MSU, and MPI of RCMI Coordinating Center, leading its Research Capacity Core domain. Prior to joining MSU in January 2023, he served as Presidential Distinguished Professor, CSET Associate Dean, Interim Dean, and PI/PD of RCMI Center for Environmental Health at Jackson State University. Dr. Tchounwou is a biomedical scientist with strong research interests in environmental health and disease. He is an elected 2023 AAAS Fellow based on his seminal contributions to identifying the molecular targets for cancer therapy, and supporting the U. S. Government in policy decisions regarding the management of toxic and hazardous materials. He is author of 317 peer-reviewed publications. He ranks among the top 1% of world scientists. He received the 2013 AAAS Mentor Award, and the 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, for his outstanding mentorship of early career scientists. Dr. Tchounwou earned both ScD, and MSPH from Tulane University.

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Building Health and Resilience Research Capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast: A Workshop Series

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Building Health and Resilience Research Capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast: A Workshop Series

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Featured publication

Building Health and Resilience Research Capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast: Elevating Partnerships: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

Description

Contributors

Committee

Sponsors

Staff

Major units and sub-units

Contact

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Provide feedback

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