Adriana Cristina Black, MPH, MAT
Doctoral Student
Director of Health Affairs, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Community Health Sciences
Maternal and Child Health
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Pronouns: she, ella
Contact
Building & Room:
Library of Health Sciences, Odehmenan Health Equity Center
Email:
Related Sites:
About
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 is the Founding Director of the Odehmenan Health Equity Center in the Library of Health Sciences.
Adriana's teaching, research, and administrative work 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. Adriana has also 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. Her research interests include childhood flourishing, immigrant cultural capital, Latina maternal health, and racial justice, health equity, and mentorship initiatives in health sciences graduate schools.
Prior to her work in academia, Adriana worked in the clinical field as a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) across the Midwest and abroad in Spain. Originally from Venezuela, Adriana grew-up in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois and was a competitive gymnast through her childhood and adolescence. She 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.
Selected Publications
Belanoff C, Black AC, Ncube CN, Acevedo-Garcia D, Almeida J. Neighborhood child opportunity and preterm birth rates by race and ethnicity. JAMA Netw Open; 2024. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32766.
Vela M, Black AC. Faculty development in medical language education. In: Ortega P, ed. Handbook of Language in Public Health and Healthcare. Wiley; 2024.
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.
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.
Notable Honors
2024, Maternal and Child Health Alumnae Award for Outstanding Service to Individuals and Families in the MCH Community, Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence at Boston University School of Public Health
2019, Staff Excellence Award for Mentorship or Training, Boston University School of Public Health
2019, Health Equity Award, Boston University Medical Center
Education
Master of Public Health (MPH), Boston University
Maternal and Child Health, Epidemiology
Master of Athletic Training (MAT), Saint Louis University
Bachelor of Science (BS), Saint Louis University
Exercise Science, Sociology
Selected Presentations
Black AC, Belanoff C, Elliott T. Positioning maternal and child health practitioners for transformational
leadership through anti-oppression frameworks and dialogue; Oral pres.; Maternal and Child Health
Leadership (CityMatCH) Conference, New Orleans, LA; Sep 2023.
Black AC, Cozier Y, Belanoff C, Galea S, Sullivan L. Storytelling sparks a school-wide conversation
about diversity and inclusion; Oral pres.; American Public Health Association Annual Meeting,
Philadelphia, PA; Nov 2019.
Black AC, Huezo M, Belanoff C. Household language, poverty, and the social environment: an analysis on
Latino children’s health; Poster; CityMatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference,
Portland, OR; Sep 2018.