Ford receives lifetime achievement award

February 2, 2021

Dr. Chandra Ford

The Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP) has honored Chandra Ford, PhD, with a lifetime achievement award.

“For most of my career, I have worked against the grain, focused on racism as a public health problem,” she said. “To be recognized by one’s own community is very precious.”

According to ABWP officials, the award recognizes Ford for her work to examine links between racism and disparities in the health care continuum and to develop the concepts and methods to study the relationship between racism and health disparities. It also recognizes the commitment to public service she displays by mentoring scholars and medical professionals who are earlier in their careers.

She is also the founding director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health, which is working to address the root causes of racial health inequities.

“She creates these opportunities and she brings you in, and if you’re not completely blown away by her brilliance, you are absolutely inspired to be more,” said Dr. Valencia P. Walker, a neonatalogist and past president of the ABWP, of Ford. “I thank her for the way that she combines the passion with the power of her voice to speak truth to power.”

Ford – who graduated from the UNC Gillings School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2005 – was honored through a virtual ceremony, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her fellow honoree, Judy Belk, president and CEO of California Wellness Foundation, were recognized for their commitment to improving health equity before and throughout the pandemic.

Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.