PhD, MPH, MPA, CHES®
Assistant Professor of Nursing
John L. and Helen Kellogg Endowed Faculty Scholar
Rush University College of Nursing
Violence Prevention | Digital Mental Health | Biopsychosocial Stress and Resilience
Chuka Nestor Emezue (pronounced Choo‑Kah • A‑May‑Zu‑Way) — that’s me. The name has Nigerian roots. And according to family lore, it wasn’t just chosen; it was hand‑delivered by God herself. So if you stumble over the pronunciation, don’t worry — you’re not just misreading a name, you’re defying divine branding.
I'm an Assistant Professor of Women, Children, and Family Nursing and the John L. and Helen Kellogg Endowed Faculty Scholar at Rush University, College of Nursing.
I hold a Ph.D. in Nursing Science, a master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) and Public Affairs (MPA), and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry -- all from my alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia. Together, these degrees let me zoom from cells to communities.
My work is inspired by Frederick Douglass’s quote:
“It is easier to build strong children
than to fix broken men.”
I am a problem-solver at heart, so being an interventionist was an easy choice. So, I design community-grounded, technology-enabled interventions that strengthen youth resilience and family well-being across the lifespan.
Broadly speaking, my research integrates digital health tools, biopsychosocial science, and community-engaged methods to address youth and family violence issues, specifically interpersonal violence, mental-health challenges, and some quirky risky behaviors and (mal)adaptive practices, such as service and emotional avoidance, and masculinities [Black and Digital]).
I started out building digital interventions and community programs for girls and women who survived partner violence. Then I decided to move upstream to address the agent of violence, working with men and fathers who use violence in the home. Spoiler alert: It is incredibly challenging to change certain entrenched behaviors in adulthood.
Hence, I pivoted to a primary prevention focus, which primarily focuses on justice-involved, Black, rural, immigrant, and Latinx/Hispanic boys and young men who use and survive violence -- the idea is to reach them before they show up in our emergency departments, courtrooms, or worse. Think of it as catching the plot twist early, before the story turns tragic.
Over the past five years, I have developed two culturally grounded, technology-enabled interventions with these young men, helping to create them. From content to aesthetics to deployment, and the never-ending refinement and adaptations. Let's just say, lessons have been learned. Technology-based interventions can be nightmarish and unforgiving, but they offer powerful opportunities for innovation and impact. Plus, they are a radical way to deliver interventions directly to those least likely to receive or engage with them.
[Culture + Biology]
Culture and biology are intricately linked and determine behavioral tendencies across the lifespan (I saw this in Richard Reeves' book, Of Boys and Men). My more recent research bridges culture and biology, exploring how chronic adversity becomes biologically embedded. I study the microbiota–gut–brain axis and stress-response systems, and how these physiological changes interact with structural stressors such as racism, food insecurity, community violence, and poverty.
I'm privileged to direct a small army of research assistants, volunteers, high school students, and pre-docs at the EMERGE Innova+ions Lab, where we partner with youth from Chicago's West and South sides, families, high schools (eight of them), school-health centers, and community health systems to co-create digital and community-based programs. EMERGE stands for: EMpowering Youth through Equity-Driven Research, Ground-Up Innovation, and Engaged Communities...we had to have a cool name for it, anyway!
Key programs we have developed:
BrotherlyACT– An intervention in your pocket, as we call it. That is on mobile/web platforms, with an AI-supported chatbot (called DEVON) that delivers life-skills coaching, pre-crisis mental health support, and safety planning for young Black males in high-violence, low-resource settings. Download the app here on the App Store or Google Play. Email me if you need a login code -- you will need one in the current version. Sorry.
FatherlyACT (in development) – A trauma-informed father–child dyadic program to strengthen relationships and mitigate the intergenerational effects of domestic violence on mothers and children. I can't say too much about this one yet -- but we are cooking!
Technology and Adolescent Mental Health Internship (TAMI) Program - I'm especially proud of our TAMI internship at Rush and with the EMERGE Innova+ions Lab. TAMI is a youth-research training program now in its third year, engaging over 90 high school students across eight schools in Chicagoland. The program has produced two youth-coauthored publications and stands as a rare model of authentic youth-engaged scholarship. Here are manuscripts one and two - both open access/
Okay, how do we keep the lights on?
My research has been supported by the NIMHD-funded Chicago Chronic Condition Engagement Network (C3EN; P50MD017349-02), ITM/CTSA awards (UL1TR002389, KL2TR002387, TL1TR00238). We have also been fortunate to receive funding from private foundations. Some include the Kellogg Foundation, Cohn Family Foundation, Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation, the Joyce Chapman Community Grant (through C3EN), and internal Rush mechanisms.
I have collaborated with global organizations such as UNICEF Office of Research, Campbell Collaboration, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Initiative, and the Brady and Anne Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development.
Since 2021, I’ve been on something of an academic sprint: publishing 25+ peer‑reviewed articles and three book chapters, and delivering over 100 scholarly presentations (yes, my PowerPoint has seen more airports than most people). Along the way, I’ve contributed to national conversations through op‑eds and media features in the Chicago Tribune, Ms. Magazine, NPR, and other outlets.
This site is part CV, part diary, part intervention. Browse responsibly.
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