Dr. Billiot (United Houma Nation) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois. She earned a Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to assuming this role in 2017, she was a Henry Roe Cloud Fellow at Yale University. As a master’s of social work student, Dr. Billiot led an epidemiological study in a small Ecuadorian parish to discover the incidence rates of persons living with disabilities who were exposed to volcanic ash. Her current research uses mixed methods to explore gaps in knowledge of how chronic health issues, non-communicable diseases, and mental illness disproportionately burden indigenous peoples. Experiences of historical trauma, discrimination, poverty, violence, repeated disasters, and chronic environmental changes have been shown to exacerbate the onset and severity of health conditions among indigenous peoples. Her contribution to indigenous health disparities science is through three levels of influence factors: physical environment, sociocultural, and historical. She is focused on developing community-based adaptations to environmental changes to promote wellness and circulation of Indigenous knowledge among youth and families.
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