Opportunities For Equity In Research Grantmaking
This Health Affairs Forefront article is about the creation process for the new RWJF Community Research for Health Equity program.
Mona Shah, a senior program officer in the Research-Evaluation-Learning unit, joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2014. As both a researcher and expert in health policy, Shah is involved in the process of understanding and measuring key health and health care issues essential to the Foundation’s overarching strategy to move our nation toward a Culture of Health.
Before joining the Foundation, Shah served as associate director of federal relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in Washington. In this role she led and executed the organization’s strategy related to prevention, access to care, safety net programs, and health equity. Previously, as ACS CAN’s senior policy analyst, she managed a cancer prevention portfolio and led evaluation of health care reform efforts focused on prevention, early detection, and health equity.
Her prior experience includes leading epidemiologic research at the United States Military Cancer Institute, the New York City Department of Health, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–School of Public Health. Her published research covers cancer disparities, incidence and mortality, tobacco use, obesity, asthma, and utilization and access to clinical prevention services.
Shah earned her PhD in epidemiology from George Washington University, her MPH in epidemiology from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and her BA in Biology and Society from Cornell University. She also is a founder of Subcontinental Drift—a nationwide South Asian American artistic coalition that fosters and provides a supportive and inclusive community for creative expression, community engagement, and positive social change.