Yara Mekawi

Dr. Yara Mekawi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville and the founder of the Challenging Ongoing Legacies of Racism (COLOR) Lab. Her work focuses on dismantling racial inequities through interdisciplinary research examining how racism impacts mental health, cognitive processes, and systemic models of psychopathology.

• Education: PhD in Clinical and Community Psychology (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019), Postdoctoral Fellowship (Emory University School of Medicine, 2021).
• Research Interests: Racial discrimination's effects on mental health, cognitive/affective mechanisms of prejudice, and culturally responsive interventions. Her lab employs multi-method approaches to address systemic racism and promote equity.

Dr. Mekawi’s research bridges clinical psychology with social justice, emphasizing marginalized communities’ resilience and the biological embedding of racism. Her studies explore trauma, emotion regulation, and intersectional oppression, with a focus on Black populations.

Lab Activities: The COLOR Lab collaborates on projects like the REAP parenting model and mindfulness-based interventions for trauma survivors. Ongoing work investigates polygenic risk, racial identity profiles, and institutional disparities in academia.