Iheoma U. Iruka, PhD

About

Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D., is a tenured Professor in the Department of Maternal Child Health at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Public Policy, and the Founding Director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) at UNC. Dr. Iruka is an applied developmental psychologist who is focused on ensuring that racially minoritized children and children from low-income households thrive through anti-bias, anti-racist, and culturally grounded mixed-methods approaches.

Through her center, the Equity Research Action Coalition at FPG, Dr. Iruka’s action-oriented research-to-policy and practice focuses on (1) early childhood research and evaluation attending to the healthy, academic, and socio-emotional development of racially minoritized children and children from low-income communities, (2) equitable policies that advance health, wealth, and early educational equity, (3) mentoring and training of emerging scholars from minoritized communities, and (4) translation of science to counter deficit-oriented research, practice, and policy regarding minoritized communities.

Iheoma U. Iruka, PhD in the Gillings News

Honors and Awards

Best Article Award
2024, Theory into Practice

APA Fellow
2023, American Psychological Association

Leadership for All Award
2023, Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Paper of the Year Winner
2023, Black Caucus, Society for Research in Child Development

Mid-Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Benefit Children, Youth and Families
2022, American Psychological Association

Outstanding Author Contribution
2015, Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence

Service and Leadership Award
2009, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, UNC-CH

Senior Mentor Award
2009, Frances Degen Horowitz Millennium Scholars Program, Society for Research in Child Development

Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Award
2008, National Institutes of Health

Junior Mentor Award
2007, Frances Degen Horowitz Millennium Scholars Program, Society for Research in Child Development

Teaching Interests

Mixed Methods and Program Evaluation Design, Department of Public Policy, UNC-CH

Family and Child Health Racial Equity and Justice Seminar, Public Voices Fellowship, U.S.

Family Development, William Peace University, Raleigh, NC

Biomedical Research Ethics Seminar, UNC-CH

Child Development, Miami-Dade College, Miami, FL

Developmental Psychopathology, University of Miami, FL

Research Activities

Early care and education programs, systems, and policies

Maternal, infant, and child health

Anti-poverty/Asset-building programs and policies

Home visiting and parenting programs

Home and Classroom Environment

Adult-Child Relationship

Anti-bias, Anti-racist, Culturally Responsive Practices and Policies

Select Research Activities

Co-Investigator, NIMH, Advancing community-driven optimization for equitable implementation of early childhood mental health prevention in pediatric learning health systems: Mental Health, Earlier ALACRITY Research Center, Addressing youth mental health disparities through accurate culturally appropriate diagnostic assessments and translation with community partners to address prevention beginning in infancy

Co-Investigator, HHS-2024-ACF-OPRE-YE-0089, Center for Home-Based Child Care Research Proposal, Provide leadership, build research capacity in the field, and offer support in the development and facilitation of local research to improve understanding of home based child care (HBCC) settings and providers

Principal Investigator, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Deeper Than Race: Exploring Black Immigrant Maternal Health in the US, Exploratory sequential mixed-methods research to identify barriers and facilitators to positive birth outcomes for Black immigrant mothers

Co-Investigator, NICHD, 1R01HD115985, The California Abundant Birth Project Evaluation: Advancing Birth Equity through Guaranteed Income for Pregnant People, Evaluate the impact of a guaranteed income program on birthing outcomes, maternal and child health, and children’s early outcomes

Co-Investigator, NICHD, 1R01HD111642, Early Education, School Readiness, and Early School Success: Exploring the Role of Parasympathetic Function in the Preschool Classroom, Understand whether and how parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity moderates the effects of children’s experience in the early childhood classroom on school readiness and early school success (LEAPS)

Multiple Principal Investigator, NIMH, 1R01MH133654, Racism and Resilience among Black Autistic Children and Caregivers, Examination of the impact of racism and resulting racial trauma on the mental health outcomes of Black parents of autistic children (ages 3 -9) and on child behavior and development (Project REACH)

Principal Investigator (sub), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care, HSN316201200040W, Disability Inclusion in Child Care. Discover, design, and implement innovative approaches to strengthen inclusion in children for children with disabilities in states, tribes, and territories

Co-Principal Investigator, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, R305A190199/R305A200525, Effects of Implicit Bias on Children’s Early Outcomes, Examine the impact of implicit bias on teacher expectations, teacher-child interactions, and preschool-aged children’s outcomes using a sample of 80 community-based preschool classrooms (FACE)

Co-Principal Investigator, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, RISER Network. Expand the focus and reach of the RISER Network to HBCUs and other related organizations and institutions to mentor pre- and post-doctoral fellows

Principal Investigator, Western North Carolina Start with Equity ECE, Lead equity-centered academy of early childhood grantees coupled with developing actionable data dashboard

Principal Investigator, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Improving Outcomes for Majority Black Educare Schools, Develop an African-centered, culturally responsive practice guide with specific strategies, exemplars, and materials to guide effective implementation

Principal Investigator, Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc., Starting Them off on the Right Path: Utilizing Home Visiting to Address Race-based Trauma and Support Children's Racial Identity Formation, Developmental evaluation of PAT race-based trauma supplement in strengthening healthy racial identity formation for young children.

Service Activities

Associate Editor, Adversity and Resilience Science

Associate Editor, Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Associate Editor, Infant Mental Health Journal

Member, Royster Society of Fellows Faculty Board, UNC-CH

Member, Dean’s Faculty Diversity Advisory Committee, College of Arts and Science, UNC-CH

Board Member, Book Harvest, Durham, NC

Board Member, NC InCK Advisory Board, Raleigh, NC

Past Chair, Durham PreK Governance Committee, Durham, NC

Senior Fellow, Harvard Center on the Developing Children, Cambridge, MA

Board Member, The Pyramid Model Consortium

Member, Lancet Commission on Racism and Child Health, Global

Board Member, National Science Foundation’s Directorate for STEM Education Advisory Committee, Alexandria, VA

Member, Voices for Healthy Kids Voices Policy Research Advisory Group, New York, NY

National Advisory Committee Member on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations (NAC), U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC

Board Member, Trust for Learning, Washington, DC

Board Member, Brady Education Foundation, Chapel Hill, NC

Education