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Research Focus

As a scholar and educator, my area of research is aimed at improving physical activity across the lifespan (multigenerational) through an interdisciplinary approach among Black youth and women.  Physical inactivity is a major public health problem with a strong association with many health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity; and the benefits of regular physical activity to prevent and reduce risks for most chronic diseases are well documented (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008; Lee et al., 2012; Reiner, Niermann, Jekauc, & Woll, 2013). Black women, however, are less physically active than all other ethnic groups, which contribute to incidents of diseases being disproportionately higher in Black women in comparison to other ethnic groups (Mozaffarian et al., 2015). Therefore, my goal as a nurse scientist is to develop theory-driven behavioral interventions around physical activity that can reduce and/or halt the trajectory of these growing trends. Ensuring that these interventions are culturally relevant for the intended population is also an important factor to consider as well.

• Dissertation: A Church-based Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Black Adolescent Girls. 2010, 185 pages. A 12-week church-based physical activity intervention for Black adolescent girls, aimed at changing attitudes that would result in a significant increase in physical activity. Published Dissertation UMI 3434199. Greensboro, NC: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

 

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Interventions to Manage & Prevent Chronic Illness. A mixed-method study to explore Black mothers’ and daughters’ insight and attitudes regarding physical activity: Barriers or factors that promote and/or hinder. 2011-2013.

 

Internal Funding (Rutgers University)
Year	Source	Amount
2017	Eta Mu Chapter of STTI, Inc. Research Grant Conducted a quantitative study with female college students to explore students’ behavior and perceptions of physical activity and to explore for any racial/ethnic differences among female students	$ 1000
2017	Dean’s Summer Research Grant – School of Nursing Conducted secondary Analysis of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to explore factors with Black women meeting physical activity guidelines	$ 5000
2016	Committee on Institutional Equity and Diversity (CIED) mini-grant The Sixteenth Annual Summer Institute on Randomized Behavioral Clinical Trials	$ 2071
2015	Dean’s Summer Research Grant – School of Nursing Conducted a pilot study of mothers & daughters to the PARE model.	$ 5000

 

External Funding

As a nursing scholar, it is important to conduct research to expand the field of nursing. Grants are needed to help conduct research.  I have persistently applied for grants to expand by research trajectory, although I have not been funded, the experience and reviews gained from each grant application strengthen my knowledge and understanding of the grant application process; the attached table shows my funding efforts.

 

October 2020 – 2021: Awarded a $ 25,000.00 “Community Impact Grant” from Medline Foundation to implement a breast cancer awareness program for underserved women in the Camden community.

• Rutgers University Foundation Grant Agreement.2020_WILLIAMS
• Medline Awards Grants to 13 Organizations Dedicated to Community Health. Grants awarded to support programs around breast cancer awareness, heart disease, and population health

 

A list of external grants I have applied for: Williams External Grants

 

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Physical activity and good nutrition: Essential elements to prevent chronic diseases and obesity.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/publications/aag/pdf/dnpa.pdf

Lee, I. M., Shiroma, E. J., Lobelo, F., Puska, P., Blair, S. N., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. The Lancet, 380 (9838), 219-229. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61031-9

Mozaffarian, D., Benjamin, E. J., Go, A. S., Arnett, D. K., Blaha, M. J., Cushman, M., . . . Turner, M. B. (2015). Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2015 Update. Circulation, 131, e29–e322. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000152

Reiner, M., Niermann, C., Jekauc, D., & Woll, A. (2013). Long-term health benefits of physical activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-9. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-813