Leadership Team

Director

Dr. Blake is Professor of Health Behavior in the School of Public Health at Texas A&M University and a Licensed Psychologist.  She has extensive experience conducting interdisciplinary research with large teams of scholars from Social Psychology to Environmental Health and has served as a co-Principal Investigator on three federal grants from NIH, OJJDP, and NIJ.  Dr. Blake’s research broadly focuses on investigating and ameliorating child and adolescent racial/ethnic health and educational disparities through an interdisciplinary lens.  A such her research follows three interrelated themes with health equity at the center of these areas:

• Peer directed aggression, bullying and victimization of socially marginalized youth
• The disparate impact of school discipline on Black females
• The impact of school health interventions on youth’s physical and mental health and educational outcomes.

Associate Director

Dr. Gilreath is a Professor of Health Behavior in the School of Public Health at Texas A&M University.  She has a strong record of accomplishment and significant expertise in tobacco use epidemiology, substance use among adolescents and adults, latent class analysis, emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents (e.g., violence, depression, and suicidality), sexual risk behaviors, and vulnerable populations including racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities globally. She has co-authored over 85 manuscripts and obtained over $13,000,000 in funding from various sources.  Dr. Gilreath was federally funded continuously from 2010-2019.

Active/Current Research Interests:

• Comorbid behavioral health problems among disparities populations
• Cigarettes, Alternative Tobacco Products, & Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems epidemiology among vulnerable youth
• Military Connected Families and Youth

Both Drs. Blake and Gilreath remain committed to upholding the founding mission and values of CHEER to contribute to the national health disparities research agenda and to achieving the national objectives of healthy people 2030 to improve the health outcomes and quality of life of underserved and vulnerable populations.