Dr. Ronee Wilson, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) alumna and assistant professor, has been awarded a $5,000 USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy award. USF Foundation, a group that connects the university with donors, presented the award.

Wilson received the Valerie D. Riddle, MD Award in Health. The award is open to all tenure-track USF Health faculty members who conduct research related to women’s health.

“To have the WLP support and recognize my work means a lot,” said Wilson, who received her PhD from the COPH. “I am very honored and humbled to be recognized for pursuing my passion.” Wilson’s passion happens to be maternal and infant health outcomes, primarily among marginalized populations.

“I am very honored and humbled to be recognized for pursuing my passion.” —Dr. Ronee Wilson

“My early-career research involved the study of obstetric near-miss events or extreme cases of severe maternal morbidity, which in the United States primarily impacts African American women,” Wilson said. “Over the past decade, I have explored various behavioral, demographic and clinical risk factors that are associated with adverse outcomes for women and mothers. And most recently, my work has shifted from a predominantly clinical perspective to a more community-engaged focus. My current projects are focused on understanding and evaluating programming designed to address the persistent disparities that impact African American communities. Much of this work is conducted within under-resourced areas and focuses on women and their pregnancy or perinatal outcomes.”

“My current projects are focused on understanding and evaluating programming designed to address the persistent disparities that impact African American communities.” —Dr. Ronee Wilson

Wilson was nominated for the award by fellow COPH faculty members Drs. Ellen Daley and Stephanie Marhefka.

Daley called Wilson a “talented and respected researcher” who has “integrated herself into many areas of maternal and child health epidemiology, including her innovative fatherhood research.” Marhefka described Wilson as “a natural role model, outstanding mentor to our students, strong advocate for mothers and children and an exceptional community-based maternal and child health researcher.”

Wilson will use her $5,000 award to add a research component to the Merck for Mothers (MFM) Safer Childbirth Cities project that she co-leads. The MFM initiative is a collaborative effort undertaken with REACHUP, Inc., a nonprofit that works for racial and ethnic equity in health care, and Dr. Adetola Louis-Jacques, a maternal-fetal specialist with USF Health. The project aims to improve perinatal mental wellness and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in perinatal health outcomes by facilitating access to a holistic, inclusive and responsive continuum of care.

Specifically, Wilson will research whether perceived social support among pregnant and postpartum moms affects cortisol (a biomarker for stress) and cytokines (biomarkers for inflammation). “The $5,000 will support cortisol and cytokine collection and lab fees plus research incentives for 50 women.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health