Marcella Nunez-Smith MD, MHS

Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Medicine); Core Faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program; Faculty, Global Health Leadership Institute

Research Interests

Healthcare workforce diversity; cancer disparities; role of media on health; discrimination in health care systems; role of race in professional experience

Research Summary

  1. National Institutes of Health: Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN); Formation of a research collaborative across the Eastern Caribbean islands thatwill recruit and follow a community-dwelling adult cohort to examine chronic disease burden and to enhance health outcomes research and leadership capacity in the region. Role: PI.
  2. National Institutes of Health: Development of an instrument to measure self-reported experiences of healthcare discrimination. This study advances preliminary work supported by YCCI in the development of a novel instrument to measure patient-reported outcomes. Role: PI.
  3. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: This study uses integrated methods to identify the experiences and structures that have hindered or promoted success among current and former minority faculty members across the country and to characterize the role of race in their professional experiences. Role: PI.
  4. Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation: Promotion and retention of diversity in medical education. This study examines historic and current trends in academic medical centerretention and promotion rates and seeks to develop and test new benchmarks. Role: PI.
  5. Connecticut Health Foundation: Development of a healthcare equity website. This grant will support the creating, development, and maintenance of a labwebsite. Role: PI.

Selected Publications

  • Nunez-Smith M, Ciarleglio M, Sandoval-Minero T, Elumn J, Castillo-Page L, Peduzzi P, Bradley E. Medical school faculty promotion in the United States: Is there institutional variation by race/ethnicity? American Journal of Public Health. 2012 May;102(5):852-858. Epub 2012 Mar 15.
  • Nunez-Smith M, Bradley EH, Herrin J, Santana C, Curry L, Normand SL, Krumholz HM. Quality of care in the US Territories. Arch Int Med. Published online June 27, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.284
  • Nunez-Smith M, Pilgrim N, Wynia M, Desai MM, Bright C, Krumholz HM, Bradley EH. Healthcare workplace discrimination and physician job turnover. J Nat Med Assoc. 2009 Dec: 101 (12): 1274-1282. [PMID: 20070016].
  • Nunez-Smith M, Pilgrim N, Wynia M, Desai MM, Jones B, Bright C, Krumholz HM, Bradley EH. Race/Ethnicity and Workplace Discrimination: Results from a National Survey of Practicing Physicians. J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Sep 1: 24(11): 1198-1204. [PMID: 19727966].
  • Babaria P, Abedin S, Nunez-Smith M. The Effect of Gender on the Clinical Clerkship Experiences of Female Medical Students: Results from a Qualitative Study. Acad Med. 2009 Jul; 84(7):859-866. [PMID: 19550176].
  • Nunez-Smith M, Curry L, Berg D, Bigby JA, Krumholz HM, Bradley, EH. The Impact of Race on the Professional Lives of Physicians of African Descent. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Jan 2; 146(1) 45-51. [PMID: 17200221].

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