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Chandra Ford, Ph.D. Interview

Dr. Chandra L. Ford joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences in the Fall of 2008. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Prior to joining UCLA, she completed postdoctoral fellowships in Social Medicine (University of North Carolina) and in Epidemiology (Columbia University). Her motivation to obtain a doctorate, which grew out of her work as a community organizer, was heightened by her understanding of health disparities as issues of social justice. She wanted to become a researcher so that she could ask the kinds of questions needed by those on the ground to more fully reflect the social contexts of their day to day lives. Conducting research into these issues enables community members to approach policymakers not only with anecdotes about their circumstances but also with rigorous "hard data".

Dr. Ford's research examines social determinants of health disparities, especially human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) disparities. The broad question her research aims to answer is, "To what extent do societal inequities contribute to the disproportionate burden of disease among minority populations?" Structural factors (such as institutionalized discrimination) are important to her work. Populations of particular interest include racial/ethnic and sexual minorities. Her research seeks to identify key etiologic pathways linking contextual factors to HIV/AIDS disparities; employs multilevel approaches to simultaneously examine proximal and distal determinants of health; and, helps to refine the conceptualization and measurement of race-, ethnicity-, racism-, gender- and sexuality-related constructs as used in health disparities and social epidemiologic research.

Throughout her program of research, three key threads are apparent: a focus on the fundamental causes of inequities; an emphasis on making empirical as well as conceptual contributions; and, advancing critical race approaches to the study of inequities. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the conceptual foundation for her work. In Spring 2009, she convened the nation's first meeting on the application of Critical Race Theory to public health research and practice. Her CRT work benefits from interactions with faculty in the UCLA Law School's Critical Race Studies Program, the only such program in the country.

In discussing with Dr. Ford her decision to join the UCLA faculty, she shared a number of influences, not the least of which were UCLA's progressive HIV/AIDS work, the prominent Critical Race Studies program and the opportunities to collaborate with colleagues at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and with community partners in Los Angeles County.

Southern California's sunny weather and having family and friends in Los Angeles helped seal the deal. Dr. Ford enjoys camping and hiking, is "learning to like the beach and getting into the ocean", and is a women's basketball fan. She comes from a family of committed "civil servants" who, for generations, have worked on various fronts to improve the well-being of poor and minority communities. And as a child, even without knowing there was a field called "public health", she was actively involved in many public health and safety campaigns.