A Collaborative Approach to Address Racism in a Community–Academic Partnership

The HERCULES Exposome Research Center at Emory University uses an exposome approach to study the environment’s effect on health and community well-being. HERCULES is guided by a Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) that includes representatives of neighborhoods, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions in the Atlanta metropolitan region. This region (and the SAB) has a large proportion of Black residents, many of whom live in areas experiencing environmental injustices. Historic and current racial injustices in Atlanta and public health research made it imperative to initiate dialogue and implement actions to address racism and power dynamics that may impact research and partnerships between affected communities and our institution. Read more about JPB Fellow Christina Fuller’s research.