Overview
Dr. Latesha K. Harris is a Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing and a Nursing Postdoctoral Fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at Duke University. Dr. Harris’s research focuses on understanding and addressing health inequities among disadvantaged populations. Her work examines the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH), chronic stress, and structural inequities on shaping Black women’s health across the life course. Through her work, Dr. Harris aims to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. She is particularly interested in how lived experiences of marginalization and systemic barriers contribute to disease risk, and how culturally responsive and equity-driven approaches can promote health and well-being.
Her research has informed interdisciplinary collaborations and has been featured in national forums focused on health equity and policy solutions. Dr. Harris’s work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Research Scholars (HPRS). Currently, Dr. Harris is a fellow in the Nursing Science Incubator for Social Determinants of Health Solutions (N-SISS) at Johns Hopkins University, a highly competitive national fellowship aimed at equipping nurse scientists with cutting-edge approaches to address and eliminate health inequities in the United States. Her long-term goal is to develop scalable, multi-level community-engaged interventions that mitigate the health impacts of structural inequities.