Research brings the health community together for common cause

Professor Elizabeth Ackley knows that improving public health in a diverse urban environment takes more than blanket, city-wide solutions. For the past several years, Ackley has been using GPS to pinpoint health disparities within micro-geographies in the Roanoke area.  Her findings have helped local health and government organizations better understand where problems occur, and how to bring a range of solutions to bear on these. Her work helped the city of Roanoke win a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to participate in Invest health, a program promoting innovative health solutions in the nation's small and mid-sized cities.

"One reason I love public health research," she says, "is seeing how it inspires all kinds of students to find their own niche in the healthcare system." Ackley plans to engage a Roanoke students in this project, where they'll work closely with many different  leaders in the city's health community.