Joëlle Atere-Roberts

Social Epidemiologist // PhD Candidate // Health Equity Researcher

About Me

Joëlle Atere-Roberts a PhD Candidate in social epidemiology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She holds a B.S in Biology from Agnes Scott College and an MPH from Georgia State University. Before beginning her doctoral program, Joelle worked as an ORISE Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she focused on initiatives to address health disparities in cancer prevention and control.

Her current research interests have health equity at its core and aims to understand how social factors underpin racial and ethnic differences in disease outcomes. Her dissertation aims to measure structural racism over the life course and examine its relationship to poor cardiometabolic health outcomes later in life. Joëlle's other research interests include the impact of social and structural factors on women’s health, specifically, reproductive and gynecologic health outcomes, and cancer outcomes. Her research is currently supported by the Biosocial NIH T32 Training Program at the Carolina Population Center.

When she's not troubleshooting SAS code, you can find her baking gourmet desserts, weight lifting, or traveling!

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Research

Early in my career, I witnessed the first-hand impact of health disparities on real people, which has driven my commitment to unpacking how social factors underpin racial and ethnic differences in chronic disease outcomes. I refuse to marginalize the stories and experiences of individuals who fall through the cracks of society due to their racial identity, socio-economic status, or any of the numerous oppressive societal structures.

In an effort to challenge the systematic drivers of health disparities, I choose to conduct research that intentionally draws on methods and theories from social science disciplines to inform targeted interventions to improve the health of marginalized populations. My research is centered around social factors- racial discrimination and neighborhood environment- as drivers of inequities in chronic disease outcomes. I am interested in elucidating health disparities in chronic disease outcomes by engaging in interdisciplinary research.