Paris Adkins-Jackson, PhD, MPH

  • Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences
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Overview

Paris "AJ" Adkins-Jackson, PhD, MPH, is a multidisciplinary community-partnered researcher and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health. Her research focuses on achieving restorative justice in public health by investigating the historical determinants of healthy aging and testing health interventions that anti-racist, restorative, art-based, and multilevel—by everyone for everyone (HARAMBEE interventions). Dr. AJ's work examines the multigenerational impact of multifaceted structural racism on aging across diverse groups, including individuals racialized as Black, Latine, Native American and/or Alaskan Native, Asian, Jewish, and White. She developed numerous variables and measures capturing anti-Black, anti-Latine, and anti-Indigenous racism, demonstrating how adverse early-life exposure to racist policies affects mid-to-late-life cognitive, biological, and psychological health, and how these policies carry brain health implications for generations born decades later.

Concurrently, she established a community-partnered research model addressing power imbalances as a key determinant of institutional trustworthiness. Dr. AJ also coined the term cinematic epidemiology—the intentional creation, analysis, and utilization of narrative feature films rooted directly in empirical public health data. Using cinematic epidemiology, Dr. AJ partnered with Visage Entertainment to produce Brim, a feature film based on her studies.

Dr. AJ’s current work bridges historical determinants with epigenetic biomarkers to identify critical windows for prevention and intervention, while testing community-led HARAMBEE interventions in the four U.S. counties with the highest estimated prevalence of Alzheimer's disease-related dementias.

Dr. AJ is an HBCU alumna who earned her doctorate in psychometrics from Morgan State University and serves as a board member for the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BA, 2005 Humboldt State University
  • MA, 2007 California Institute of Integral Studies
  • MPH, 2012 Claremont Graduate University
  • PhD, 2018 Morgan State University

Research

Research Interests

  • Aging
  • Community Health

Selected Publications

Adkins-Jackson PB, Gobaud AN, Kim B, et al. "The Place Where Danger Waits": Ten Years of Incarceration After the 1994 Crime Bill and Cognitive Function among Older Adults. J Urban Health. 2025;102(3):726-735. doi:10.1007/s11524-025-00975-y

Adkins-Jackson PB, Tejera CH, Cotton-Samuel D, et al. "Rest of the folks are tired and weary": The impact of historical lynchings on biological and cognitive health for older adults racialized as Black. Soc Sci Med. 2025;364:117537. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117537

Adkins-Jackson PB, Kim B, Higgins Tejera C, et al. "Hang Ups, Let Downs, Bad Breaks, Setbacks": Impact of Structural Socioeconomic Racism and Resilience on Cognitive Change Over Time for Persons Racialized as Black. Health Equity. 2024;8(1):254-268. Published 2024 Apr 15. doi:10.1089/heq.2023.0151

Adkins-Jackson PB, Taikeff N, Akingbulu J, Avila-Rieger JF, Corona-Long CA. Parkinson's Disease Inequities in Daily Cognitive Activities: An Intersectional Approach. Ethn Dis. 2024;34(2):113-122. Published 2024 Jul 2. doi:10.18865/ed.34.2.113

Adkins-Jackson PB, Vázquez E, Henry-Ala FK, et al. The Role of Anti-Racist Community-Partnered Praxis in Implementing Restorative Circles Within Marginalized Communities in Southern California During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health Promot Pract. 2023;24(2):232-243. doi:10.1177/15248399221132581

DiPetrillo B, Adkins-Jackson PB, Yearby R, et al. Characteristics of interventions that address racism in the United States and opportunities to integrate equity principles: a scoping review. Syst Rev. 2024;13(1):266. Published 2024 Oct 23. doi:10.1186/s13643-024-02679-x

Houghton LC, Adkins-Jackson PB. Mixed-Method, Multilevel Clustered-Randomized Control Trial for Menstrual Health Disparities. Prev Sci. 2024;25(Suppl 3):459-473. doi:10.1007/s11121-024-01646-1

Adkins-Jackson PB, George KM, Besser LM, et al. The structural and social determinants of Alzheimer's disease related dementias. Alzheimers Dement. 2023;19(7):3171-3185. doi:10.1002/alz.13027

Adkins-Jackson PB, Chantarat T, Bailey ZD, Ponce NA. Measuring Structural Racism: A Guide for Epidemiologists and Other Health Researchers. Am J Epidemiol. 2022;191(4):539-547. doi:10.1093/aje/kwab239

Adkins-Jackson PB, Legha RK, Jones KA. How to Measure Racism in Academic Health Centers. AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(2):E140-E145. Published 2021 Feb 1. doi:10.1001/amajethics.2021.140

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