Student Receives Health Policy Research Scholars Fellowship

Grace Ibitamuno, a MD/PhD student at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers School of Public Health, has received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars Fellowship to support her work advancing health equity.

Designed for doctoral students from historically marginalized backgrounds and populations underrepresented in specific disciplines, the Health Policy Research Scholars Fellowship helps researchers from all fields apply their work to policies that advance equity and health while building a diverse field of leaders.

Ibitamuno’s research focuses on access to health services and the attainment of health equity for vulnerable and marginalized populations including racial/ethnic minorities, individuals with lower socioeconomic status, maternal and child populations, and children with special healthcare needs and their families.

Specifically, she will use the fellowship to continue her research addressing documented disparities in time-to-diagnosis in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from underserved and under-resourced communities, examining the specific role and need for parental well-being efforts to address these disparities.

Ibitamuno, the author of Not Yet Beautiful – a novel on human trafficking – is a TEDx speaker, having spoken on the topic of resilience. She is also a former Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities fellow and a former New Jersey Department of Health Maternal and Child Health graduate fellow.

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Rutgers School of Public Health The Rutgers School of Public Health – New Jersey’s leading academic institution in public health – is committed to advancing health and wellbeing and preventing disease throughout New Jersey, the United States, and the world, by preparing students as public health leaders, scholars, and practitioners; conducting public health research and scholarship; engaging collaboratively with communities and populations; and actively advocating for policies, programs, and services through the lens of equity and social justice. Learn how the Rutgers School of Public Health is “keeping the ‘public’ in public health,” by visiting them at https://sph.rutgers.edu.