Race &... Lecture Series

The Race &... Lecture Series is a lunchtime speaker series that introduces and showcases the work of Pitt faculty. Time allows for networking in virtual breakout rooms before the speaker's introduction, as well as a Q&A segment after the lecturer's presentation.

Time and delivery: Virtual lectures are held from noon to 1 p.m. A Zoom link will be provided upon registration; be sure to save your registration confirmation for login details to be used on the day of the event. The online meeting opens at 11:45 for networking time before the welcome from leadership at noon. Additional networking in breakout rooms will follow the welcome, and the lecture will begin at approximately 12:15 p.m.

Upcoming Lectures

Check back for new lectures in the 2024-25 academic year.

Recent Lectures

Dr. Adedoyin Ogunfeyimi (March 21, 2024)

Dr. Adedoyin Ogunfeyimi
Assistant Professor of English

Photographic Camera Inventions and the Technologies of Being: A Black Rhetorical Critique
This talk traces the inventional processes of photographic camera types and show how they validate but also terminate Black lifeworld. It will rely on photographic images of the people of African descent around the world.

Dr. Aala Abdelgadir (January 18, 2023)

Dr. Aala Abdelgadir
Assistant Professor of Political Science

Presenting: Anti-Muslim Discrimination and the Limits to Equality in Europe

Discuss research on institutional and social anti-Muslim discrimination and impact on ability of Muslims to participate equally in society.

Dr. Ikenna Ebuenyi (November 14, 2023)

Dr. Ikenna Ebuenyi
Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology

Presenting: Psychosocial rehabilitation in low resource settings

The aim of the presentation is to share a concise overview on psychosocial disability and rehabilitation in low resources settings and the challenges of affected individual and research in such settings.

Omer Ali (November 9, 2023)

Dr. Omer Ali
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics

Presenting: The impact of federal housing policies on racial inequality: the case of the Federal Housing Administration

The impact of federal housing policies on racial inequality The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) began insuring residential mortgages in 1935 in response to the widespread housing and liquidity crisis precipitated by the Great Depression. The agency is credited with expanding home-ownership among American households. There is growing evidence, however, that its programs were implemented in a manner that discriminated against African Americans. This talk estimates the effect of the FHA's mortgage insurance program between 1935 and 1939 on racial disparities in home-ownership and home values. 

Sebastian Sattui (April 13, 2023)

Dr. Sebastian Sattui
Assistant Professor of Medicine 
School of Medicine.

Presenting: #GeriRheum: Improving the care of older adults with vasculitis and other systemic rheumatic diseases

Andrea Ibarra (March 30, 2023)

Dr. Andrea Ibarra 
Assistant Professor
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

Presenting: Evaluation of Peripartum Neurocognitive Performance in Women with Preeclampsia 

Mary Ellen Vajravelu (March 16, 2023)

Dr. Mary Ellen Vajravelu
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Presenting: Uncovering and Addressing Inequities in Pediatric Diabetes

Kathryn Reed (February 23, 2023)

Kathryn Reed 
Assistant Professor 
Vice Chair for Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Presenting: Community Engagement in Action: Mentorship & Pipeline Programs for Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Learners

Sirry Alang (February 9, 2023)

Sirry Alang 
Associate Professor
School of Education

Presenting: People, Contexts, & Systems: Intersections that Matter for Health Equity

Mosopefoluwa Lanlokun (January 26, 2023)

Mosopefoluwa Lanlokun
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Presenting: Health Disparities in Asthma Care 

Tasha Alston (December 1, 2022)

Dr. Tasha Alston
Assistant Professor of Medicine
GIM Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Initiatives
Center for Research on Health Care

Presenting: African American Fathers’ Involvement in their Children’s Education: Identifying ways to connect research on African American Fathers in education to structural racism and the health of Black Families. 

Terri Newman (November 17, 2022)

Terri Newman, PharmD, MS
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy and Therapeutics
School of Pharmacy

Presenting: Achieving Pharmacoequity in Sickle Cell Disease

Nancy Gauvin and Paris Ekeke (April 14, 2022)

Nancy Gauvin
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science and Disorders
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Presenting: Speech and Resonance Disorders: What Are the Research Options for That Diagnosis? 

Paris Ekeke
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Presenting: The Interaction Between Toxic Stress and Pregnancy

Andrea Ibarra and Martina Anto-Ocrah (March 31, 2022)

Andrea Ibarra
Assistant Professor
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
School of Medicine

Presenting: The Effect of Preeclampsia on Cognitive Function

Martina Anto-Ocrah
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
School of Medicine

Presenting: Amplifying the Voices of the Overlooked through Reproductive Epidemiology

Darlène Dubuisson and Katherine Guyon-Harris (March 17, 2022)

Darlène Dubuisson
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Presenting: Black Futures at the End of Times

Katherine Guyon-Harris 
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Presenting: Supporting Positive Parenting among Pregnant People with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD): Ensuring Equitable Access to (and Benefit from) Care

Mariana Bezamat and Katrina Knight (February 24, 2022)

Mariana Bezamat
Assistant Professor 
Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
School of Dental Medicine

Presenting: Oral Health Outcomes as Potential Indicators of Cancer Experience

Katrina Knight
Assistant Professor
Department of Bioengineering
Swanson School of Engineering

Presenting: Learning from the past to innovate future devices for prolapse repair

Amanda Boston (February 10, 2022)

Amanda Boston
Assistant Professor
Department of Africana Studies
Kenneth P. Dietrich Shool of Arts and Sciences

Presenting: Race, Place, and Power in the Gentrifying City

Onome Oghifobibi and Kathryn Reed (January 27, 2022)

Watch a recording of the Jan. 27 event

Onome Oghifobibi, MD, MSc, FAAP
Neonatal Medicine Fellow 
School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics  

Presented: Implementation of a Fetal Infant Mortality Program in Allegheny County: An initiative towards achieving Health Equity for All

This initiative focuses on reviewing infant & fetal deaths to examine associated social, economic, cultural, safety and healthcare factors, with the goal of implementing recommendations that will improve critical service delivery to these communities.

Kathryn Reed, MS, PA-C, ET-P, RYT
Vice Chair for Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement 
Assistant Professor of PA Studies 
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences 

Presented: Black Maternal and Fetal Wellness in Pittsburgh

Our project aims to further explore the needs of Black mothers within both the community of Homewood, and the Pittsburgh community in order to accurately provide resources and education which may currently be inaccessible or difficult to access.

Ashley Hill and Brittany Brown-Podgorski (December 2, 2021)

Watch a recording of the Dec. 2 event

Ashley Hill, Dr.PH, MPH
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Graduate School of Public Health 

Presented: Frameworks to Address Inequity in Reproductive and Sexual Health

This area of research examines reproductive epidemiology, health disparities and the co-occurrence of social, environmental and biological factors that contribute to sexually transmitted  infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Brittany Brown-Podgorski, PhD., MPH 
Assistant Professor of Health Policy & Management 
Graduate School of Public Health

Presented: Minimum Wage Laws and Housing Cost Burden among Black Families

This study used a quasi-experimental design to test whether state minimum wage increases were associated with a significant change in the proportion of Black households with a housing cost burden less than 30% of the annual household income.

Amanda McCoy (November 18, 2021)

Watch a recording of the Nov. 18 event

Amanda McCoy, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon
Department of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery

Presented: Caring for Pediatric Osteomyelitis in a Resource-Limited Setting

Dr. Amanda McCoy, Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine's Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics, shared her experience working as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon in Bomet, Kenya, for almost three years.

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd and Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences Anantha Shekhar provided opening remarks.