Millicent N. Robinson, Ph.D., MSW, MPH is an assistant professor in the UNC School of Social Work with a secondary appointment in the UNC School of Medicine, Department of Social Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. in community health sciences from the Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA where she minored in sociology. Robinson is also a “triple Tar Heel,” having earned her B.A. in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill, her MSW from the UNC School of Social Work, and MPH from the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also a certified practitioner of Reiki therapy, which is an evidence-based practice used to reduce stress and promote healing and well-being.
Robinson’s program of research investigates the life course biopsychosocial mechanisms that distinguish mental and physical health risk among Black women. To address this, her research agenda integrates theories and perspectives from social work, public health, African, African American and diaspora studies, and medical sociology to address four key objectives: (1) identifying mental and physical health trends and their interconnections; (2) evaluating the role of culturally-relevant forms of coping in shaping these health patterns; (3) examining the ways in which sociodemographic and psychosocial factors impact these associations; and (4) developing, implementing, and assessing culturally-relevant mindfulness interventions to promote mental and physical well-being. Her research has been published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
