{"id":311591,"date":"2026-06-18T10:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/311591\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T10:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:40:40","slug":"how-university-of-miami-scientists-are-tackling-health-disparities-in-black-communities-local-news-updates-the-miami-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/311591\/","title":{"rendered":"How University of Miami scientists are tackling health disparities in Black communities | Local News & Updates | The Miami Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past April, The Miami Times reported<\/a> worsening health outcomes for Black communities as two Florida health plans near their end. With both plans experiencing setbacks due to structural, political and funding challenges, research on the community level has become increasingly important.<\/p>\n

For South Floridians, one of the hubs for disparity research is right in our backyard. At the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, significant advances are being made to mitigate the racial disparities in health care through research and community engagement.<\/p>\n

Dr. Judite Blanc is currently a research associate professor at the Miller School of Medicine. She created a lab known as the Holistic Families Lab, which is attached to the Center on Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The goal of the lab is to leverage innovative, ethnographic tools to tackle unique stress responses among underserved families, particularly in women and children.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Judite Blanc, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the founding director of the Holistic Families Lab (H.F.L.)<\/p>\n

(UM Faculty Directory)<\/p>\n

With a background in global health, Blanc\u2019s focus is on minority populations within the U.S., including the immigrant Haitian population and other diverse Black communities.<\/p>\n

Currently, Blanc is the principal investigator for the Realist Women\u2019s Study, a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial in which she is testing the feasibility of virtual reality-based stress intervention for Black women with hypertension. She is also building an immersive virtual reality for stress reduction and communication conflict resolution among families that are separated.<\/p>\n

\"VR\"<\/p>\n

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Dr. Judite Blanc is currently spearheading an initiative on the role VR can play in addressing unique stressors among the Black population.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Dr. Judite Blanc)<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized that the data was scarce when it comes to social determinants of mental health, particularly among minority populations,\u201d said Blanc. \u201cTherefore, I wanted to advance data not only on the impact of social structure and historical oppression on people of African descent but also develop culturally tailored intervention to tackle those racial health disparities.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of historical oppression, many Western research methods arise from a Eurocentric, male perspective. There is a lack of culturally tailored and culturally responsive research, as well as a coherent conceptualization of mental health among people of African descent.<\/p>\n

\"Blanc<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Judite Blanc’s research highlights the importance of tailored care for the Black community.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Dr. Judite Blanc)<\/p>\n

Blanc approaches her work through a biopsychosocial lens \u2014 not only considering individual personality and ability but also conceiving mental health as something that is interconnected to the body, social context and history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my research is conceptualized from an intersectional standpoint,\u201d said Blanc. \u201cWhatever research question that I am exploring, or whatever research project intervention that I am conceiving, I design it from the perspective of your multiple identities, such as your gender, your sex assigned at birth, your class, your age and your immigrant status.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of her mentors, Dr. Girardin Jean-Louis, is the director of the Center on Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences. As a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Miller School of Medicine, much of his research also addresses the psychosocial and environmental determinants of health preventing access to necessary care in communities disproportionately burdened by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.<\/p>\n

A pioneer in the sleep equity field, Jean-Louis has led research that identified the role sleep plays in cardiovascular disease, dementia and various cancers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our own centers, we have multiple verticals,\u201d said Jean-Louis. \u201cResearch is one. Another one is community engagement. We built a structure that allows us to bring all of the equipment we have in our lab to the homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another important part of Jean-Louis’ work is education and training. He has led a training program for the last 25 years, instructing students to focus on understanding and addressing disparities in health. Light exposure, noise pollution and air quality are all considered social determinants of health, while ZIP code is considered a predictor of certain diseases.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Girardin Jean-Louis, Ph.D. is a professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the Miller School of Medicine and the director of the Center on Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences.<\/p>\n

(UM Faculty Directory)<\/p>\n

Jean-Louis emphasizes the need for equity and parity among all communities in America, with the north star being the Healthy People 2030 initiative, instituted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in August 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Healthy People 2030 gives us a roadmap to [lessen disparities],\u201d said Jean-Louis. \u201cIt has significant mandates in terms of what we have to do. \u2018Disparity\u2019 and \u2018equity\u2019 are words that scientists are not really using, at least for now, in the current zeitgeist. But that\u2019s going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent cuts in NIH funding have impacted the work, but Jean-Louis has seen the community rise to the challenge of supporting scientific research. He is optimistic about progress because of the direct engagement he sees from outside of the immediate scientific community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Sophia George, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Division of Gynecological Oncology within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Miller School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

(UM Faculty Directory)<\/p>\n

Another scientist on the forefront of cutting-edge research is Dr. Sophia George, an associate professor in the Division of Gynecological Oncology within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Miller School of Medicine. Her work, especially within the Bahamian and broader Caribbean community, has changed cancer care on a national level. Her interests lie in translational science, moving research from the lab into the lives of South Floridians.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Community work] is essential,\u201d said George. \u201cThe joy that I have is to be able to communicate back and work with my community partners to translate what we\u2019re finding, and to have them participate, work with us, contribute and benefit from the work that\u2019s being done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The team at the Center for Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine is led by Dr. Girardin Jean-Louis.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Dr. Judite Blanc)<\/p>\n

Awareness is a priority for George and her work. She advocates for access to care from an informed perspective, taking into account social determinants of health \u2014 such as access to food, insurance, proper sleep and informed clinicians \u2014 alongside certain predispositions determined by genetics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to continue supporting work to understand the drivers of these disparities,\u201d said George. \u00a0<\/p>\n

She highlights the research centers as the first line of health care defense. From nongovernmental organizations to community partnerships, outside support helps researchers focus their attention on underserved populations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As scientists in the Miller School of Medicine lead research and education efforts to address disparities in health care for Black people globally, they say community support is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is definitely a dialogue, and the dialogue is becoming more visible not only on social media but also in traditional media and even at the community level,\u201d said Blanc. \u201cUnfortunately, there are also barriers that we still have to work on, but there is improvement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This past April, The Miami Times reported worsening health outcomes for Black communities as two Florida health plans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[129869,129851,129856,129866,104972,129862,129860,129867,129865,85052,129853,129868,23058,20893,123,125,124,129852,129864,129854,129861,129863,129855,109658,129858,9724,129859,129857],"class_list":["post-311591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-addressing-racial-disparities-in-healthcare-through-community-engagement-and-research","tag-black-health","tag-black-women-hypertension-study","tag-cancer-disparities-in-black-communities","tag-community-health","tag-dr-girardin-jean-louis-sleep-equity-research","tag-dr-judite-blanc-research","tag-dr-sophia-george-gynecologic-oncology-research","tag-haitian-immigrant-health-outcomes-study","tag-health-disparities","tag-health-equity","tag-healthy-people-2030-health-equity-goals","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health-research","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-miller-school-of-medicine","tag-minority-health-research-in-south-florida","tag-nih-funding","tag-realist-womens-study-hypertension-trial","tag-sleep-and-cardiovascular-disease-disparities","tag-sleep-health","tag-social-determinants-of-health","tag-south-florida-health-disparities-research","tag-university-of-miami","tag-university-of-miami-health-equity-initiatives","tag-virtual-reality-health-intervention"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}