Kengthsagn Louis

Kengthsagn Louis is an Assistant Professor in Boston College's Psychology Department with a joint appointment in African and African Diaspora Studies. She directs the Self, Health, Identity, and Culture (SHIC) Lab investigating how socio-cultural-psychological processes influence health outcomes.

Education:

• PhD in Social Psychology, Stanford University (expected 2024)
• BA in Psychology, Skidmore College (magna cum laude)

Her research examines relationships among health concepts, self-perception, and social contexts to address health disparities. Current projects investigate: 1) How perceptions of health interdependence influence health behaviors and policy support 2) How patients navigate potentially discriminatory healthcare interactions 3) Culturally responsive interventions to promote health equity.

Publications demonstrate innovative approaches to measuring health mindsets and analyzing healthcare interaction dynamics. Recent work develops the Social Extension of Health (SEH) framework to understand connections between individual and community health perceptions.

Awards & Honors:

• DARE Fellowship (2022-2024)
• Centennial Teaching Assistant Award (2022)
• Norman H. Anderson Research Fund (2020,2021)

She mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers in the SHIC Lab and teaches Health Psychology and Psychological Insights from Caribbean and African Epistemologies. Her community-engaged research includes partnerships with Haitian health organizations.

The SHIC Lab uses mixed methods including experiments, longitudinal studies, natural language processing, and qualitative approaches to examine health beliefs and behaviors.