In the heart of Alabama, Druss Hays is transforming clinical research through creativity and compassion. As a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Forge AHEAD Center FREEDOM Study, Hays employs thoughtful strategies to connect with patients, particularly those often excluded from traditional clinical research. His work highlights the intersection of meticulous planning and a deep commitment to health equity, guided by the leadership of study MPI, Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., and Program Director, Aseel El Zein, Ph.D., RDN in UAB’s Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Breaking Down Barriers

For Hays, recruitment begins with genuine connection. He meticulously reviews patient lists from clinics, while also scanning upcoming primary care appointments to identify potential candidates. Yet, his methods are rooted in more than strategy—they reflect a deep respect for patients’ time and circumstances.

“I find the best results start with calling patients after receiving invite letters,” Hays explained. “The people we reach out to directly meet our criteria to the best of our knowledge. When it comes to recruitment, I have to dedicate as much time as possible to finding the people we need.”

“For people who live in areas too far away for an in-person visit, we use LabCorp,” Hays said. “But even then, some have to cross state lines to get to a location. That’s a tough ask, and it often leads to people opting out.”

Building Trust and Retaining Engagement

While recruitment is critical, Hays also excels in retention—a vital component for long-term studies like FREEDOM. His efforts center on personalized communication, ensuring participants feel valued and supported throughout their involvement.

“I enjoy engaging with participants,” he said. “It’s a great experience when I find someone motivated about their participation. It feels good knowing they’ve gained access to a beneficial resource because of my outreach.”

“Translation requires a lot of thought regarding settings, implementers, and patients,” said Hollie Raynor, Ph.D., during the Forge AHEAD December seminar. Raynor, a leader in nutrition and behavior research, works to ensure solutions to childhood obesity don’t remain confined to research papers but reach families and communities in need. She focuses on adapting programs to real-world settings, training the people who deliver them, and designing solutions that work for families in their everyday lives.

At the seminar hosted by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, Raynor discussed the challenges of addressing childhood obesity. “When I started to walk into this space, my interest was thinking about how we can take our family-based intervention—highly intensive at the time—and begin moving it out of specialty care clinics to more primary care settings to enhance access,” she explained. This change, she noted, is essential to helping families—especially those in communities with limited access to care—benefit from programs without the obstacles of specialized healthcare.

Raynor stressed the importance of tailoring interventions to community needs and delivery methods. “As researchers, we need to really describe the site of delivery and the providers involved, so we build a more representative research base to understand how best to impact translation,” she said.

Her work with Federally Qualified Health Centers in Tennessee exemplifies this approach, focusing on scalable models for delivering obesity programs through non-specialist providers, such as primary care physicians and behavioral health consultants.

These changes come from working closely with community partners and understanding their needs. “It’s so important for us to hear our partners,” Raynor said. “Researchers might say, ‘This is the measure I need,’ but a community partner may say, ‘That’s not feasible.’”

Her work addresses systemic challenges like food insecurity, which affects many families her programs serve. In one project, she modified interventions for food-insecure households by focusing behavior-change goals solely on the child, reducing the burden on parents struggling to make dietary changes for the entire family. “Agility in addressing barriers without sacrificing rigor is key,” she said.

Meet Carol Agomo, Ph.D., MBA, MPH, program director in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and director for community outreach and engagement in Alabama for Forge AHEAD.

With more than 15 years of experience in higher education and community engagement, Carol specializes in public health, health literacy, health equity, and reducing health disparities. She describes herself as a “community-engaged scholar-practitioner” and has developed numerous professional initiatives that strengthen partnerships between communities and academic institutions nationwide. Her research offers deep insights into the experiences of Community Health Workers in the Deep South, enriching her understanding of how local health infrastructure impacts outcomes for under-resourced communities.

Carol’s role at Forge AHEAD enables her to “bridge the gap between research and practice” in Alabama. She said, “I look forward to collaborating with community members and researchers to advance health equity knowledge and action.” Recognizing the urgent need for interventions that are culturally relevant, context-sensitive, and sustainable, Carol is committed to co-creating solutions for conditions like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension, which are prevalent in the Deep South. Her dedication to this work stems from her belief in education’s power to empower both individuals and communities—a foundation she sees as essential for lasting change.

Personally, Carol’s move from Chicago to the Deep South has fostered a deep connection with the region. She is raising her family here and feels driven to contribute to a healthier future for her community. Outside of work, Carol, a self-described “foodie,” enjoys exploring local restaurants and experimenting with new recipes at home. She balances her culinary interests with an active lifestyle, often participating in 5K runs, outdoor walks, and other fitness activities that help her “recharge and find fulfillment” in both her personal and professional commitments.

Visitors to Carol’s office might catch her “theme song of the day” playing softly in the background—a small reflection of her passion for music and its role in her life.

Carol’s enthusiasm, commitment to community, and holistic approach to health equity make her an invaluable addition to the Forge AHEAD team.

Jared Ball, MPH, brings a strong background in public health and extensive experience in population health to his role as Program Evaluator for Forge AHEAD.

Jared earned both his BS in public health and MPH in health policy from UAB. His professional journey has included roles in Medicaid population health, where he supported individuals with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, through transitional care services. Additionally, he served as a patient navigator in Birmingham’s public health community and led education and training efforts for the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. These experiences, along with his commitment to health equity, brought him to Forge AHEAD, where he is driven to make a positive impact.

In his current role, Jared sees an opportunity to “capture the work that has already been accomplished by Forge AHEAD and its members, while also exploring new directions for growth.” His work in program evaluation will be crucial for assessing Forge AHEAD’s progress, responding to emerging community needs, and strengthening the Center’s impact in addressing health disparities across the Deep South.

Jared’s dedication to public health is deeply personal. Reflecting on his father’s kidney transplant, he shares, “The treatment my dad received during his transplant when I was very young” profoundly influenced his motivation to contribute to health in the region. Growing up aware of the barriers facing many communities in the Deep South, Jared brings a deeply informed, empathetic perspective to his work with Forge AHEAD.

Outside of work, Jared is a dedicated family man with two children—a 4-year-old son and a 2-month-old daughter. He enjoys staying active through running, hiking, and building Lego sets, a hobby he hopes to share with his son. Jared also finds joy in exploring new places, watching sports, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Jared’s combination of professional expertise, personal connection to the region, and commitment to continuous improvement makes him a key asset to the Forge AHEAD team.

Rikki Tanner, Ph.D., is an epidemiologist specializing in cardiometabolic diseases and health disparities, now serving as a scientific writer with the Forge AHEAD Center.

With a strong foundation in public health research and a passion for reducing health disparities, Rikki is committed to advancing health equity through community collaboration and engagement. She is enthusiastic about her role in communicating Forge AHEAD’s research to the broader scientific community.

Growing up in the Deep South with parents who worked as a paramedic and a nurse, Rikki became keenly aware of pressing public health issues, including mental health stigma, racial disparities in healthcare, and limited access to services. Reflecting on her early experiences, she recalls a transformative college course, History of American Medicine, which deepened her understanding of the advancements in medical science and the persistent challenges marginalized communities face in accessing these benefits. “In parts of the Deep South and marginalized communities, we still have a long way to go to equitably distribute those gains,” she said. This awareness drives her commitment to making Forge AHEAD’s research impactful and accessible.

Outside of work, Rikki enjoys exploring historical fiction, practicing fiber crafts like crochet and embroidery, and watching British panel shows. An avid pub trivia enthusiast, she’s always up for testing her knowledge in a friendly challenge.

Rikki’s dedication to health equity, her background in public health, and her passion for storytelling make her an invaluable addition to the Forge AHEAD team. We’re excited to see how her unique perspective and skills will amplify our mission for a healthier, more equitable South.

Camille Schneider Worthington, Ph.D., a scholar at the Forge AHEAD Center, is leading groundbreaking research on maternal nutrition. Her project, “Use of Home-Delivered Meals to Manage Cardiometabolic Health during Pregnancy among Predominantly Black, Low-Income Women in Alabama,” aims to improve pregnancy outcomes by providing healthy meals to Medicaid-eligible women.

Schneider Worthington emphasizes the critical role of nutrition during pregnancy, noting that poor dietary choices can lead to serious health risks for both mothers and babies. With alarming statistics showing that 70% of pregnant women exceed recommended intakes of added sugars and sodium, her research focuses on innovative solutions to ensure access to nutritious foods.

By delivering ten free healthy meals each week to participating mothers, Schneider Worthington hopes to demonstrate that improved nutrition can lead to better maternal and infant health outcomes. “Healthy meal delivery can support healthier pregnancies, which supports healthier babies and ultimately healthier communities,” she states.

Read the full story here. 

Disparities in health outcomes for African American adults involve both biological and social health determinants. Jennifer Caldwell, Ph.D., a researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, is exploring the combined influence of a biological determinant (a person’s genes), and a social health determinant (food insecurity) to understand the impact on African American adults’ health outcomes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Genetics are known to play a role in 9 of 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. North Baton Rouge is a predominantly made up of African American households where 20-30% of households are food insecure compared to only 8-10% of households in South Baton Rouge.

Inspired by the North Baton Rouge community, Caldwell is researching how food insecurity affects the body’s ability to heal. This community, which lacks grocery stores and fresh produce and relies solely on convenience stores, is classified as a “food desert.”

Additionally, she aims to start a conversation with African American communities in this area about how genes influence their health.

“I wanted an intervention that would close that knowledge gap,” she says. “We titled the project Linking GAINS; it aims to combine the analyses of genetics and nutrition to enhance health behaviors among participants undergoing a behavioral intervention.”

 Linking GAINS focuses on community engagement to share information on how genetics and health behaviors impact a person’s health. Caldwell’s goal is for residents in the African American communities in North Baton Rouge to understand their genetic makeup and use that knowledge to make informed health decisions. By bridging the gap between genetics and nutrition, Caldwell hopes to foster healthier behaviors and improve overall health outcomes in these underserved areas.

The study: Enhance health behaviors through community

Throughout the Linking GAINS study, participants will learn the impact that genetic factors that contribute to developing chronic diseases.

They will be able to understand and effectively communicate their genetic results to their primary care providers. Additionally, participants will receive guidance on adopting healthier lifestyles and modifying behaviors to improve overall well-being.

“We are establishing clinic groups within the community,” Caldwell says, “And meetings are to be held at a local church.” It is important to Caldwell that participants feel safe and that trust is built in a trustworthy space during the study.