Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award

Leah Frerichs

Associate professor, health policy and management department, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Leah Frerichs’ research, mentoring, and service exemplify Edward Kidder Graham’s ambition “to make the campus co-extensive with the boundaries of the State,” in the context of the University’s modern mission to extend knowledge-based service worldwide.

Frerichs’ research program is focused on advancing health equity for Black, Native American, Hispanic, rural, and youth populations in North Carolina and beyond. She is a nationally regarded expert in using systems science approaches to conduct community-engaged research that centers people and leads to tangible improvements in care and outcomes. Her research is responsive to practical community needs and includes issues such as colorectal cancer, physical activity, mental health, and substance-exposed pregnancies.

Importantly, Frerichs’ work at the intersection of research and public health practice is making an impact on the lives of North Carolina youth, especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds. She has played a critical role in supporting the development and implementation of the Twin Counties MAPSCorps initiative, which provides Black high school students in Nash and Edgecombe counties with an internship and work experience in asset-based mapping of their community. She is also principal investigator on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study seeking to improve mental health systems of care for adolescent youth. This project was developed with community partners and includes Black high school students from Tarboro – the Young Visionaries – as equal members of the research team. One of the earliest members of the Young Visionaries is now a Morehead-Cain scholar, and a former MAPSCorps intern is currently studying medicine at Carolina.

Frerichs is also an exceptional teacher and mentor who supports students’ growth and development in and out of the classroom. She embodies what it means to center people in public health research and practice, while empowering individuals and communities to achieve their highest potential.