We do not all have the same chance to live a long and healthy life. Our team seeks to document, understand, and reduce unfairness in health by building evidence for implementation of policy, systems, and environmental interventions that make a difference. We partner to focus this work on the health of young people at risk of tobacco use; the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people; and the health of farmworkers and farmworker families.

Projects

  • We lead and manage the NC site for the Center for Rapid Surveillance of Tobacco (CRST), which informs FDA’s regulation of tobacco products.
  • We partner with the NC Farmworker Health Program and NC State University to partner on research that advances structural interventions as part of the NIH’s Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) Program.
  • We lead and manage the NC site of a project assessing the impact of age restricted in-person location policies for tobacco sales.
  • We partner with state agencies, community health centers, and non-profit organizations to support farmworker health in NC and beyond.

Our Team

Efosa Iyore

Efosa Iyore, MPH

I am a program coordinator working with Dr. Joseph Lee in the Department of Implementation Science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Division of Public Health Sciences. I primarily work on projects focused on farmworker health in NC as well as addressing tobacco use among adolescents and young adults (funded by National Cancer Institute). I am originally from Edo State, Nigeria, and I received my MPH degree from East Carolina University.

Joseph Gilbert Louis Lee, PhD, MPH

Joseph Lee, PhD, MPH

I am a professor of implementation science in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Division of Public Health Sciences. My funding has come from American Cancer Society, Cancer Research UK, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Cancer Institute, National Library of Medicine, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. I graduated from Duke University and, twice, from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. I am originally from Madison County, NC.

Person Card 392x510

Elisabeth Reed

I am a Project Coordinator working alongside Dr. Joseph Lee in Implementation Science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Division of Public Health Sciences. My primary projects include monitoring new and emerging tobacco products in retail environments and internet access among farmworker and rural communities. I graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, and I grew up in Wilson, North Carolina.

Abdel Zahra

Abdel Zahra

I am a project manager working with Dr. Joseph Lee in the Department of Implementation Science and Dr. Amanda Kong in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy. In this position, I manage our current grants. These grants are primarily focused on advancing migrant farmworker health and preventing tobacco use in young people. I received my bachelor's degree from East Carolina University.