Michelle L. Redmond

Michelle L. Redmond, Ph.D., M.S., serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Campus. Her academic leadership includes directing two Master of Public Health courses: PRVM 845 (Health, Society, and Culture) and PRVM 849 (Qualitative Methods in Public Health). As a community psychologist, she bridges academic research with community-based interventions to address critical health disparities.

Her educational foundation comprises:

• Bachelor of Science from Fisk University
• Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Emporia State University (2001)
• Ph.D. in Community Psychology from Wichita State University (2006)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Additional Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center

Dr. Redmond's research program centers on health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, with emphasis on digital health interventions for diabetes management, infant mortality prevention, food insecurity/chronic disease linkages, and women's health. Her methodological expertise in community-based participatory research and qualitative design enables deep exploration of self-efficacy barriers in underserved populations. Current projects investigate problem-solving approaches for diabetes self-management in African American communities and prenatal health behaviors among at-risk women.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on health equity through three interconnected strands: (1) maternal/infant health disparities in Kansas, particularly Black maternal experiences; (2) culturally tailored digital interventions for chronic disease management; and (3) structural determinants of food insecurity and cardiovascular risk. Her work increasingly employs mixed-methods approaches to translate community insights into actionable interventions, with strong emphasis on African American populations across the lifespan.

Her competitive research funding includes:

• NIH/NHLBI K01 Career Development Award (1K01HL135472-01A1) as Principal Investigator for the eDECIDE project
• NIH/NHLBI Diversity Supplement Award (3R01HL098909-04S1) examining physical activity in older African American women
• Collaborative grants on prenatal nutrition (United Methodist Health Ministry Fund) and pregnancy barriers (KBA)

Dr. Redmond actively mentors MPH students and early-career researchers through her NIH-funded projects and course instruction. Her eDECIDE team includes graduate research assistants Kara Knapp and Amanda Perkins, while her community partnerships span governmental organizations like the Sedgwick County Fetal Infant Mortality Review Board and statewide initiatives including the Kansas Birth Equity Network. She integrates program evaluation expertise to strengthen community-based health initiatives.

Her laboratory infrastructure centers on the eDECIDE digital health platform, now expanded as Digital Health S.T.U.D.I.E.S. of Kansas (DHS). This web-based intervention ecosystem delivers problem-solving training for diabetes management while generating real-world data on behavioral outcomes. She collaborates with the Society of Behavioral Medicine's Health Equity Special Interest Group to advance methodological rigor in disparity-focused research, maintaining strong ties to Kansas Public Health Association for policy translation.