Adriana Cristina Black Morocoima, MPH

Adriana Black is a bilingual and bicultural public health educator, health equity researcher, academic administrator, and maternal and child health consultant with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of academia and health. Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Engagement, she currently serves as the inaugural Director of Health Affairs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Illinois Chicago and the Founding Director of the new Odehmenan Health Equity Center on the West Campus.

Adriana's clinical work, research, and teaching has earned her awards in both mentorship and health equity advocacy. She has held positions at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Tufts University, and Boston University School of Public Health contributing to both racial justice education and academic administration in health sciences schools and programs. She has developed and taught courses around health equity, community health needs assessments, and systems of oppression.

She has partnered with various organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, University of North Carolina Health Care System, Planned Parenthood, and University of Memphis School of Public Health. Adriana received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and a Master of Athletic Training (MAT) from Saint Louis University. She received a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology from Boston University.

Adriana's research interests include immigrant children’s health, Latina maternal health, and racial justice, health equity, and mentorship initiatives in health sciences graduate schools. Adriana hopes to be able to develop, implement, and evaluate curricula for health sciences graduate students and trainees about health equity and systems of oppression by bringing the community into the classroom, taking the students into the community, and engaging in community-based participatory research together.

Fun Fact: Originally from Venezuela, Adriana grew-up in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois and was a competitive gymnast through her childhood and adolescence.

1. Amutah-Onukagha N, Abrams JA, Stewart C, Black AC, Rhone TJ, Kheyfets A, Nicholson V, Jeanty J, McCloskey L. Black maternal health scholars on fire: building a network for
   collaboration and activism. Health Serv Res. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14091.
2. Almeida J, Belanoff C, Erbetta K, Black AC. Ethnic, nativity and country of origin inequities in preterm birth among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites in New York City: what’s stress got to do with it?. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01392-y.

1. Black AC, Belanoff C, Elliott T. Positioning maternal and child health practitioners for transformational leadership through anti-oppression frameworks and dialogue; Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference, New Orleans, LA; Sep 2023.
2. Black AC, Cozier Y, Belanoff C, Galea S, Sullivan L. Storytelling sparks a school-wide conversation
   about diversity and inclusion; American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
   PA; Nov 2019.
3. Black AC, Huezo M, Belanoff C. Household language, poverty, and the social environment: an analysis on Latino children’s health; CityMatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference, Portland, OR; Sep 2018.