Monica Baskin is an American psychologist who is a professor of medicine at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research considers health disparities in the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
. She serves as Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Early life and education
Baskin grew up in
Southwest Atlanta.
Her mother and father were from rural
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
.
Her father was diagnosed with
eye neoplasm when she was a child, and ultimately lost his eye.
Baskin has said that she remembers being told that she "would need to be 'twice as good' as her white peers in order to be as successful,".
She studied
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
and
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
at
Emory University
Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
.
She moved to
Georgia State University
Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...
for her graduate studies, where she earned a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in community counselling. She remained at Georgia State for her doctoral research, where she studied public health interventions for adolescents diagnosed with
sickle cell disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...
. After losing her father to cancer whilst she was still at high school, Baskin became interested in why physical and psychological distress was still so taboo in communities of colour.
Like many other African-Americans, her father was only diagnosed with cancer when he was at
stage 4, which meant that death was inevitable.
She has said that she was motivated to work on health disparities because she realised that there weren't many people who looked like her in the field.
She was sponsored by the
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Loan Repayment Programme which allows scientists studying health disparities to start their independent research careers without student loan debt.
After graduating, Baskin returned to Emory University, where she was awarded a paediatric psychology fellowship. In 1997 Baskin was made a Minority Fellow of the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
.
Research and career
Baskin is a psychologist who investigates the physical and mental health of minorities. Her research considers how lifestyle impacts medical outcomes, and how behavioural interventions can help to mitigate health disparities.
In 2013 Baskin coordinated the report ''"PLACE MATTERS for Health in Jefferson County, Alabama: The Status of Health Equity on the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama".''
The report was released fifty years after the protests in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
marking when the
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...
were overruled. The report collected information of life expectancy, infant mortality and access to healthy food in various areas across the county, and studied how they depended on the demographics of the communities (including ethnicity and socioeconomic status). She identified that Black mothers in
Jefferson County were 2.5 times more likely to die during child birth as white mothers, and that Black households in Jefferson County had annual incomes $22,000 below the
federal poverty guideline.
The report made a series of recommendations, including funding early childhood education programmes, implementing financial programmes to provide healthy food in poor neighbourhoods and expanding
Medicaid
Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...
.
In 2015 Baskin was awarded an
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
grant to develop strategies to prevent obesity in African American women.
Her research has shown the close relationships between cancer and obesity, and identified that African American women are most at risk.
Baskin is Chair of the Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity, an organisation which looks to eliminate health disparities through public policy. In 2020 she was elected President of the
Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Selected publications
*
*
*
Awards and honours
* 1997
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
Minority Fellow
* 2007
Jefferson County Public Health Hero Awards
* 2013
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
Institute for Rural Health Research Rural Health Heroes Award
* 2016 Max Cooper Award for Excellence in Research
* 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Leader
* 2017 Fellow of the
Society of Behavioral Medicine
Personal life
Baskin has two daughters.
One of her daughters, Kennedy, studied neuroscience at
Emory University
Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baskin, Monica
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American public health researchers
Emory University alumni
University of Alabama faculty
Georgia State University alumni
African-American women academics
American women academics
21st-century African-American academics
21st-century American academics
21st-century African-American women
Fellows of the Society of Behavioral Medicine