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Jamila Kwarteng, PhD

Jamila Kwarteng, MS, PhD

Assistant Professor of Community Health

Locations

  • Institute for Health and Equity

Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Jamila Kwarteng is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Community Health in the Institute for Health & Equity and a fellow in the NHLBI Obesity Health Disparities Research PRIDE (OHD PRIDE) cohort 9. Her research interests focus on promoting equitable health outcomes in obesity and cancer prevention and control among historically marginalized communities through community-engaged strategies. Her interests stem from her graduate work in public health and women’s studies, and her involvement in community-based participatory research projects in cardiovascular health.

Dr. Kwarteng earned her PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. In 2015, she joined MCW as a Postdoc in the Department of Medicine, and became an Instructor and Fellow in the Primary Care Research Fellowship in 2017. During this time, she began her research on facilitators and barriers of behavior change and weight loss among African American breast cancer survivors through her secondary data analyses of African American breast cancer survivors in a weight loss study; and piloted a study funded by an American Cancer Society Institutional grant to explore whether increasing social support and social networks decreases mortality risk and improves quality of life among African American female cancer survivors. In 2019, Dr. Kwarteng was appointed to Assistant Professor of Community Health.

Dr. Kwarteng’s current research is broadly concerned with community capacity-building projects that aim to improve cancer prevention and control among African Americans and Latinos. She collaborates with various stakeholders in academic medicine and community organizations including recreational centers, churches, and care coordination agencies to develop programs and workshops on cancer prevention and screening. This collaborative work is funded by the Office of Minority Health, Health and Human Services (6 CPIMP201215-02-02, role: Co-PI); Advancing Healthier Wisconsin (FP00020550, role: Co-PI); NCATS (3UL1TR001436-08S2; role: Key personnel); and NHLBI (R-22-0105, role: Site PI).

Dr. Kwarteng is a member of the MCW Cancer Center, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the Cardiovascular Center. She serves on the Community Engagement Advisory Council, Professional Enrichment Committee, and the Community and Cancer Science Network Collaborative Workgroup for Breast Cancer Disparities. She enjoys serving on dissertation committees for students in the PhD program in Public and Community Health and mentoring undergraduate summer students in Student Centered Pipeline to Advance Research in Cancer Careers (SPARCC) and Summer Cancer Health Disparities Internship Program (CHIP).

Research Areas of Interest

  • Cancer Survivors
  • Exercise
  • Obesity, Abdominal
  • Quality of Life
  • Risk Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Waist Circumference
  • Weight Loss
  • Women's Health

Research Experience

  • Cancer Survivors
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Health Equity
  • Minority Health
  • Obesity, Abdominal
  • Poverty
  • Quality of Life
  • Risk Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States
  • Waist Circumference
  • Weight Loss

Methodologies and Techniques

  • Breast Neoplasms
  • Cancer Survivors
  • Exercise
  • Obesity, Abdominal
  • Quality of Life
  • Risk Factors
  • Waist Circumference
  • Weight Loss

Educational Expertise

  • Community-Based Participatory Research
  • Health Behavior
  • Health Education
  • Health Risk Behaviors
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Minority Health
  • Program Evaluation
  • Public Health
  • Women's Health

Research Interests

African American Cancer Survivor Network: Building Community among African American Cancer Survivors

Publications