CHUKA EMEZUE

Chuka Nestor Emezue

Ph.D., MPH, MPA, CHES®

/EDUCATOR, AUTHOR, RESEARCHER/

Chuka Nestor Emezue (Choo-Kah • A-May-Zu-Way) is a professor and researcher at the Rush University College of Nursing in the Women, Children, and Family Nursing Department. Dr. Emezue earned his doctorate in Nursing Science (2021), Masters in Public Health (2016), and Masters in Public Affairs (2016) from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a BSc in Biochemistry from Niger Delta University (NDU), Nigeria.

His research integrates community- and technology-enhanced interventions and therapies to enhance the well-being, mental health, upward mobility, and future opportunities of youth impacted by violence, substance use, and mental health comorbidities. As a mixed methods researcher, Dr. Emezue’s work also investigates individual to community level determinants of program uptake, service/experiential avoidance, and (mal)adaptive coping strategies among rural, Black, and immigrant boys and men who use and survive firearm violence.

In the last five years, Dr. Emezue and his team have worked with community partners such as the Urban Male Network (UMN) to develop and pilot two culturally congruent and technology-enhanced interventions. BrotherlyACT™ is a digital intervention for young Black males that offers life skills coaching, safety planning tools, and an AI-driven chatbot to reduce the risk and effects of youth/firearm violence and early substance use. On the other hand, his FatherlyACT intervention is a nurse-led, trauma-informed, in-person, and online program designed to reduce the intergenerational transfer of domestic violence and abuse among Black families and to strengthen healthy father-child relationships in the aftermath of family violence. FatherlyACT is planned as a 12-week whole-family program.

His research is currently funded by the NIMHD through the Chicago Chronic Conditions Health Equity Network (C3EN) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) through the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA). Additionally, he has received foundation grants from the Cohn Family Foundation, Rush to Progress Pilot Awards, and Rush-BMO Health Equity Institute.

Dr. Emezue has worked on research initiatives with governments and civil society organizations such as the UNICEF Office of Research, the Brady and Anne Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development, and the UN Millennium Development Goals (now the Sustainable Development Goals).

Dr. Emezue holds the prestigious title of 2023 Public Voices Fellow with The Op-Ed Project and is a distinguished RBIHE Health Equity Scholar and a Cohn Fellow. He served as a Contributor-In-Residence at the Synapsis Journal of Medical Humanities and boasts an impressive publication record with contributions to 42 academic journals, websites, and publishing platforms. His thought-provoking op-eds on fatherhood, masculinities, and youth violence have been featured in various respected publications, including The Trace, NewThinking, Ms. Magazine, The Messenger, Clever-ish Magazine, and Bored Panda.

Questions that drive my ReSearch and MeSearch

How can we reduce youth and firearm injuries and homicides among youths at all risk levels?
How can we reduce emotional avoidance and service avoidance among trauma-impacted youth who live program-rich cities with pardoxically high rates of violence and substance use/overdoses?
What key events or experiences lead young individuals to break away from violence and criminal behavior permanently?
In what ways can technology-enhanced interventions improve mental health outcomes and alleviate disparities among underserved and under-resourced youth?
How can technology-enhanced interventions be leveraged to dignify and humanize young Black boys and men affected by violence, moving away from punitive, surveillance-based approaches towards models that prioritize support, empowerment, and respect?