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Africana Studies Program

Idia Binitie Thurston

08/23/23 - BOSTON, MA. - Idia Thurston, Health Sciences, Applied Psychology and Bouve, poses for a headshot in Blackman Auditorium on campus at Northeastern University on Wednesday August 23, 2023. Photo by Adam Glanzman for Northeastern University

Professor of Health Sciences and Applied Psychology & Associate Director of the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research, Affiliate Professor of Africana Studies

Department of Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies; Africana Studies Program

Idia Binitie Thurston, PhD (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor of health sciences and applied psychology, Affiliate Professor of Africana Studies, and Associate Director of the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research at Northeastern University. Her research explores how race, ethnicity, social class, gender, size, and sexuality intersect and influence health outcomes, inequities, and well-being in youth and families. She directs the CHANGE lab, where she collaborates with scholars, youth, and community organizations to develop and disseminate strengths-based, culturally-responsive tools that reduce stigma, enhance wellness, and promote resilience. She is passionate about mentoring, dismantling structural and systemic barriers, and promoting career pathways for individuals underrepresented in health sciences.

 

View CV
  • 2024, APA Fellow, Division 54 Society of Pediatric Psychology
  • 2023, APA Mid-Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Benefit Children, Youth, and Families, Washington, DC
  • 2022, Inaugural Citizen Psychologist Award, Texas Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX
  • 2021, Presidential Citation, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC
  • 2019, Foremothers Mentorship Early Career Award, Div 35, Section 1, APA, Chicago, IL
  • Thurston, I. B., Alegria, M., Hood, K. B., Miller, G., Wilton, L., & Holden, K. (2023). How Psychologists Can Help Achieve Equity in Heath Care– Advancing Innovative Partnerships and Models of Care Delivery: Introduction to the Special Issue. American Psychologist, 78, 73–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001153
  • ^Buchanan, N., ^Perez, M., ^Prinstein, M. J., & ^Thurston, I. B. (2021). Upending Racism in Psychological Science: Strategies to Change How Our Science is Conducted, Reported, Reviewed & Disseminated. American Psychologist, 76, 1097-1112. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000905
  • Thurston, I. B., Howell, K. H., *Kaufman, C. C., *Mandell, J. E., & *Decker, K. M. (2021).  Parenting in Matched-Pairs of Women of Color Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence living with and without HIV. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 34, 1005-1015. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22737
  • Thurston, I. B., *Decker, K. M., *Kamody, R. C., *Kaufman, C. C., *Maye, C. E., Richmond, T. K., & Sonneville, K. R. (2021). The Scale Matters: Assessing Body Size with Figure Rating Scales in a Diverse Sample of Young Adults. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01166-9

Postdoctoral Fellowship,  Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH), 2010 – 2011

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, NIMH Diversity Research Fellowship, Division of General Pediatrics, 2011 – 2013

8/2023 – 12/2024, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Disseminating and Implementing Strategies for Institutional Change in DEI across Academic Institutions.

Role: Multiple Principal Investigator (MPI Alegria, Thurston)

8/2022-7/2027, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R25 AI170379), NIAID STAR: Stimulating Training and Access to Research Experiences for Minority and Underrepresented Populations

Role: Co-Investigator (MPI Iwelunmor, Tucker)

Related Schools & Departments

Idia Binitie’s Colleagues

Nicole Aljoe

Professor of English and Africana Studies
Headshot of Kwamina Panford

Kwamina Panford

Emeritus Associate Professor of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies

Nina Sylvanus

Associate Professor of Anthropology
Headshot of Richard Wamai

Richard Wamai

Professor of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies
Headshot of Richard O'Bryant

Richard L. O'Bryant

Director of the John D. O'Bryant African American Institute; Research Associate of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy; Advisory Board Member, Humanities Center
Headshot of Sheila Winborne

Sheila Winborne

Teaching Professor of Religion
Margaret Burnham named Carnegie fellow

Margaret Burnham

University Distinguished Professor of Law and Affiliate Professor of Africana Studies

Tiffany Joseph

Professor of Sociology and International Affairs

N. Fadeke Castor

Associate Professor of Religion and Africana Studies

Patricia Davis

Associate Professor of Communications Studies, CAMD

Kabria Baumgartner

Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies

Régine Michelle Jean-Charles

Chair, Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies; Director of Africana Studies; Dean’s Professor of Culture and Social Justice; Professor of Africana Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Layla Brown

Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology & Africana Studies

Anjanette Chan Tack

Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Joint Appointed in Africana Studies. Faculty Affiliate in Latin American & Caribbean Studies and Global Asian Studies

Patrice Collins

Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Cultures, Societies and Global Studies