A University of Maryland Eastern Shore faculty member will embark on a community-based research project looking at the social determinants of health and behaviors among Maryland residents with higher poverty rates.
The project emanates from Dr. Biswadeep Dhar’s role as an Interfaith America 2024-25 Faith and Health Fellow. The assistant professor of human ecology at UMES and 16 other recipients representing faculty from diverse disciplines across the country will attend the organization’s leadership summit in Chicago where they will share their expertise this summer for a Faith and Health Educator program.
The goal of the faculty fellows is to design and implement projects to “advance a broader public understanding of collaborating faith-based religious identities and community engagement in health settings.” Projects are funded ($4,000) through the fellowship.
Dhar brings a background in health behavior and disparities with specific training in minority and immigrant health. His current research at UMES is on designing culturally tailored lifestyle interventions related to diet for at-risk populations in the U.S. with chronic disease.
The fellows were selected “from a competitive pool of applicants based on their proven commitment to constructive interfaith cooperation and their capacity to make a lasting impact on their disciplines, their communities and the broader public.” Dhar finds himself in the company of Harvard and Johns Hopkins University faculty members among others.
Gail Stephens, Ag Communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu.
Photo by Todd Dudek, Ag Communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, tdudek@umes.edu.
