Academic rheumatologist 👩🏾‍⚕️| NYU Langone | Lupus specialist | Research SLE in the African diaspora 🧬| NMQF Top 40 Under 40 🏆| She/Her/Hers 🦋💜 International Leader in Lupus 👩🏾‍⚕️👩🏾‍🔬 Physician Scientist 🧪🧫🔬 Immunology Researcher 🗽NYC Based 🌍🇳🇬🇬🇭 Global Health West Africa 🧑🏾‍🎓Baylor -> Vanderbilt -> NYU 🎤 Medical/Science communicator 🎥 Features: CBS News | ABC News | The Today Show | The Wall Street Journal | In Those Genes Pod Research Vision: Ancestrally African people are more likely to have lupus, and more likely to have life threatening lupus. This phenomenon reflects a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and the environment. In the United States, African people experience structural racism—representing a shared environment of socioeconomic depression, and cultural discrimination. This effect is so pervasive, that it confounds any potential genetic association studies. Therefore, in order to truly understand genetics as it effects Black SLE patients, these studies must be conducted in populations with shared African ancestry but varied environments. I collaborate with other rheumatologists to help build lupus cohorts through out the African diaspora. I aim to deconstruct the gene/environment interactions that precipitate severe Lupus and to understand both the social and biologic contributors to disease severity in this vulnerable patient group. In addition, to balance the benefits and burdens of research, I aim to both assess barriers to care and innovate practices to address health disparities in SLE.