Kiara Lyons

Kiara Lyons, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Maternal and Child Health Equity in the College of Health Solutions and joined their Maternal and Child Health Translational Research Team (MCHTRT) at the start of 2023. Dr. Lyons chose her profession as a maternal and child health epidemiologist because it allowed her to see the bigger picture of the health burdens our society faces, while being a voice for the historically and intentionally excluded. Meeting those in need where they are is her priority. She knows getting to the root causes of racial and health inequities is necessary when it comes to appropriately addressing negative MCH outcomes for families. Dr. Lyons's research interest focuses on mental and behavioral health among children and adolescents, with specific interests in MCH equity, positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs) and improving fatherhood support in MCH. Furthermore, she is driven to incorporate a community collaborative or community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach in many aspects of her work. Her passion and work emphasizes the need for going back to the foundation of epidemiological research and re-evaluating surveillance and methodological efforts in not only examining mental health among children and adolescents, and families, but also implementing culturally congruent practices in the MCH field. An important long-term goal of Dr. Lyons is to build healthy relationships between public health practice, research, and communities in efforts to appropriately bridge gaps in MCH equity.