Dr. Nuru-Jeter's broad research interest is to integrate social, demographic, and epidemiologic methods to examine racial inequalities in health as they exist across populations, across place, and over the life-course. Dr. Nuru-Jeter considers herself to be more "exposure" than "outcomes" focused, which is consistent with her interests in examining social factors such as "race" and "social class" as exposures that serve as the foundation for the creation and preservation of health disparities across a number of outcomes. She is interested in how these social exposures determine life experiences and opportunities differently for different social groups and how those differences become embodied and impact mental and physical health and well being.

Her current program of research consists of four inter-related areas of inquiry relevant to the study of racial health disparities: 1) the intersection of "race" and socioeconomic status and its effects on mental and physical health outcomes, 2) race and psychosocial and psycho-biological stress, 3) the measurement and study of racism as a key determinant of racial health disparities, and 4) socio-environmental context (i.e., place effects) and person-environment interactions. Dr. Nuru-Jeter is Principal Investigator of the African American Women's Heart and Health Study, which examines the association between racism stress, cardiovascular biomarkers, and biological stress among Black women in the Bay area with particular focus on coping mechanisms; and Co-Principal Investigator of the Bay Area Heart Health Study which examines similar associations among Black men with particular emphasis on coping mechanisms and internalized racism. Her research has included work on doctor-patient race-concordance; the intersection of race, socioeconomic status, and gender on risk for psychological distress, disability outcomes, adult mortality, and child health and development; racial segregation; and racism stress and mental health outcomes.

Dr. Nuru-Jeter is a member of the CHARM Training Core team. She will be advising on curricular design, giving lectures/seminars, and mentoring.

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