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Elizabeth Cohn, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Dr. Cohn, PhD, RN, FAAN is director of the Center for Health Innovation at Adelphi University, and an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Nursing. She is deeply committed to advancing health equity for underserved, low-income urban communities. Her work focuses on increasing representation of minorities in genetic and genomic research. Working collaboratively with communities-at-risk, her current research project explores three questions about the representation of minorities in genomic research: (1) How diverse are the enrollments in biobanks nationally? (2) What are the individual, cultural and systemic barriers and enablers to recruitment and enrollment? (3) What tools and interventions can be developed, tested and implemented to improve representation? The underlying goal is to assure that the findings of genomic research contribute maximally to health equity.
Dr. Cohn serves as the Associate Chair of Research for the Hip Hop Public Education Center. She is funded in collaboration with Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and The Communities of Harlem Health Revival, by the Department of Health and Human Services, and for improvement of public health and reduction of health disparities by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.