SPHIS Home » News » SPHIS welcomes Jelani Kerr, assistant professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences
SPHIS welcomes Jelani Kerr, assistant professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences
Jelani Kerr, MSPH, PhD, joins the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences as assistant professor on July 14.
Kerr has served as co-investigator on a number of grants, including three from the Canadian Institute for Health Research. His research focuses on sexual health and HIV/AIDS disparities of racial/ethnic minority youth. In particular, he investigates the individual and structural factors that affect sexual health, how these translate into increased HIV risk, and developing programming to address these issues. He also examines primary and secondary care-engagement behaviors for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Kerr works with youth populations and community-based agencies to improve health outcomes and reduce inequities.
He was awarded the Peterborough K.M. Hunter Fellowship at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, ON in 2010 and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Social Justice at the University of South Carolina in 2009.
Kerr is a member of the American Public Health Association and its Black Caucus of Health Workers. He also is part of the South Carolina Public Health Association and the South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
He received his PhD in Health Promotion, Education & Behavior from University of South Carolina Arnold South of Public Health, and is completing post-doctoral training in Social Justice and Sexual Health at the University of Windsor.
