Dr. Boden-Albala is a social epidemiologist and faculty at Columbia University in the departments of Sociomedical Sciences and Neurology. Her work reflects the intersection of vascular epidemiology and behavioral and social science. Her research initially utilized the rich prospective database of the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) as she began to analyze data related to race-ethnicity, and social resources/health disparities including isolation, educational attainment, nativity, acculturation, health care utilization, language and literacy. Dr Boden-Albala’s research is specifically related to health disparities, stroke and vascular disease with emphasis on the identification of novel modifiable stroke risk factors, and the promotion of behavioral change for primary and secondary stroke prevention. The field of stroke disparities research incorporating educational strategies and health literacy has been growing rapidly and she has become an expert in this field as evidenced by the award of a number of peer reviewed research grants. This includes an American Heart Association Grant, “Intensive social support and blood pressure control among minority women post stroke”; an educational grant from Sanofi, “Issues Surrounding Antiplatelet Compliance Post Stroke”; the NIH funded “Stroke Warning information and Faster Treatment (SWIFT)” within a SPOTRIAS program project (the NIH/NINDS Columbia Collaborative Specialized Program of Translational Research in Acute Stroke, or SPOTRIAS); the Community Engagement Core (CER) within the NIH funded Columbia University CTSA; and a cost analysis of the CDC SIP FURRThER grant . She is currently leading a behavioral intervention focused on vascular risk reduction among Alaska Native peoples.

Dr. Kidwell, MD is Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University, Medical Director of the Georgetown University Stroke Center, and Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program grant. She received her undergraduate degree at Duke University, her medical degree at University of Arizona, and performed her Neurology Residency and Stroke Fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Kidwell's research focuses on 1) understanding and addressing disparities in stroke care, 2) innovative new neuroimaging approaches directed at understanding stroke pathophysiology, and 3) advancing novel treatments for acute stroke. She has served on a number of American Heart Association / American Stroke Association expert panels and is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications and 11 book chapters. Dr. Kidwell is currently the Principal Investigator of the multicenter, NIH-funded, MR and Recanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy (MR RESCUE) trial and the NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program (SDP).

Dr. Chris Gibbons, MD, MPH is an Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, the Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Community Health and he holds faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Gibbon's research focuses on 1) Integrating evidence-based behavioral interventions into the US medical care system and 2) uniting Health Information Technologies with culturally appropriate clinical behavioral interventions to reduce disparities in chronic disease among African-American population. His work is also contributing to the emerging fields of Populomics and Consumer Health Informatics Dr. Gibbons has been named a Health Disparities Scholar by the National Institutes of Health (NCMHHD). Prior to coming to the Urban Health Institute, Dr Gibbons was a Senior Policy Fellow at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Gibbons received his training in Preventive Medicine, General Surgery, molecular neurooncology basic research and a Master of Public Health degree, all at Johns Hopkins. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Lewis Morgenstern, MD is Director of the Stroke Program at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor Michigan, USA. He is Professor of Neurology, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Morgenstern received his MD from the University of Michigan with Distinction in Research. He did his neurology residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and then a stroke fellowship with James Grotta at the University of Texas at Houston. Dr. Morgenstern is an NIH funded Principal Investigator in studies that aim to reduce stroke health disparities with respect to race, ethnicity and gender. Dr. Morgenstern's other research focus is on the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage, and mobilizing health care professionals and communities to treat acute ischemic stroke. He has an extensive publication record. Dr. Morgenstern is board certified in Neurology and Vascular Neurology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal STROKE. Dr. Morgenstern is currently co-Chair of the American Heart Association's International Stroke conference.

Dr. Dorothy F. Edwards, PhDserves as the Principal Investigator of the Participant Recruitment, Retention, Intervention, and Outcomes Core. Dr. Edwards received her B.S. in Psychology at Loyola University, New Orleans Louisiana. She received a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development fellowship for her doctoral training in Aging and Development at Washington University in St. Louis. After receiving her doctorate in experimental psychology in 1980 she worked as a research consultant for the Administration on Aging and then accepted a position at the Irene Walter Johnson Rehabilitation Institute of Washington University School of Medicine. She joined the faculty of the Program in Occupational Therapy as an Assistant Professor in 1988. Dr. Edwards was appointed as Assistant Professor of Neurology in 1990. She was promoted to Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology in 2001. Dr. Edwards has focused on the impact of neurologic disease and injury on community participation and quality of life. Her stroke studies have examined predictors of mortality after hemorrhagic stroke as well as the contributions of cognitive, sensory and motor impairments to functional independence and resumption of pre-stroke activities in persons with mild to moderate stroke. Her current longitudinal study of persons with very mild stroke, which is supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, is designed to identify predictors of poor recovery with a particular emphasis on the role of subtle cognitive deficits. Dr. Edwards is a co-investigator in an NINDS supported RCT of the effects very early application of constraint induced movement therapy after stroke. Dr. Edwards has been an investigator in Washington University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center since 1980. She has extensive experience with recruitment and retention of African American research participants. She has been the Principal Investigator of African American Outreach Satellite of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center since 1992. As part of this study she has examined disparities in diagnosis and treatment of African American elders with dementia. She is also a member of the Disparities Elimination Advisory Committee of the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University. Dr. Edward’s research has been supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Alzheimer's Association, the Retirement Research Foundation, NIA and NINDS.