The University of Maryland School of Nursing has appointed Marik Moen and Charvonne Holliday Nworu to lead one of the School’s research Centers of Excellence.
Photo: From left, Marik Moen and Charvonne Holliday Nworu
The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) has appointed Marik Moen, PhD ’19, MPH, RN, associate professor, and Charvonne Holliday Nworu, PhD, MPH, assistant professor, as co-directors of the Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research (CHEOR),
CHEOR aims to improve health outcomes and eliminate health inequities by generating knowledge about their complex causal influences; addressing institutional systems and structures that impede health equity and outcomes, including racism and social determinants of health; and creating social impact through changes in policy and in clinical and community practice.
Moen’s research focuses on social determinants of health, including social isolation, housing insecurity, basic income, substance use disorders (SUD), and infectious diseases. She has established urban and rural research advisory committees of people with lived experience of SUD to co-design and evaluate interventions. She is nationally recognized for advancing nurse-peer and community health worker approaches in HIV and addiction care and for building cross-sector collaborations in low-income and senior housing communities. She has extensive experience in global health, as co-lead of multi-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nursing capacity-building programs in Rwanda and Haiti from 2007 to 2015.
“I am pleased to be a part of the next era of the Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research as co-director,” said Moen, who joined UMSON in 2009. “The work of our center members is driven by a commitment to equity and strong interdisciplinary partnerships that improve health and care systems for people facing complex challenges. Our scientists, practitioners, students, and community partners will advance solutions that honor lived experience, strengthen communities, and inform policies and systems to improve health for all.”
Holliday Nworu joined UMSON in October. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, and racial and gender equity, emphasizing community-engaged approaches that address the social and structural factors shaping violence and health outcomes. Through innovative work with men who have used violence against an intimate partner, Holliday Nworu brings a critical perspective often missing from public health research and practice. Most recently, she partnered with House of Ruth Maryland to develop and evaluate the first 24/7 hotline in the United States for people at risk of causing harm to an intimate partner. Her commitment to community-driven research advances equitable solutions for preventing violence and promoting health.
“I am honored to serve as co-director of the Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research, joining a team of exceptional scientists, practitioners, and students committed to advancing health equity,” Holliday Nworu said. “I look forward to contributing my expertise in health equity and intimate partner violence prevention and to collaborating with colleagues and community partners as we work together to drive meaningful change.”