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The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School has recognized Cedric Harville, II, PhD, MPH, with the 2022-23 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award for his exemplary scholarship and commitment to conducting outstanding and timely research.

Harville is an assistant professor in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s (SEHHB) Department of Applied Health. His research interests include men’s health, weight management, health disparities and food insecurity.

I am humbled to receive such a prestigious award,” said Harville. “My proposed project aims to address obesity-related health disparities among African Americans by addressing food access and understanding food choices in East St. Louis.”

Harville will receive a combined $12,500 from the SIUE Graduate School and SEHHB to be used in a one-year period. The funding will support his research project entitled, “Understanding Grocery Shopping Habits of African Americans with Limited Access to Healthy Food Options in East St. Louis, Illinois.”

“As a scholar of the SIUE community, I strongly believe that it is my responsibility to engage in research that impacts the communities we serve,” he added. “SIUE has a vested interest in East St. Louis with the WE CARE clinic and the East St. Louis Charter High School, I hope that my research helps to continue to positively build on these established partnerships." 

Through the exploration of the grocery shopping habits of African Americans, or lack thereof, within the food desert of East St. Louis, the project aims to provide ways to address obesity, preventing chronic disease diagnosis, and management of current chronic conditions for future intervention study.

“Harville is a brilliant public health scholar,” said Robin Hughes, dean of the SEHHB. “His work is critically important to historically marginalized communities as he explores ways to explain and address obesity.”

“Harville’s study will make significant contributions to the public health discipline,” said Huaibo Xin, DrPH, MD, MPH, professor and department chair of applied health. “His study findings will be generalizable to African American populations living in other areas of the United States.”

Stephen Hansen, PhD, faculty emeritus, established the Lindsay Research Professorship Endowment that funds the award in honor of Vaughnie Lindsay, who served as graduate dean from 1973-1986. Lindsay was responsible for creating much of the infrastructure that supports faculty research and scholarly activity at SIUE. Faculty and emeriti faculty at the time of the award’s conception donated the funds to endow the award. 

Those wishing to help support new investigators through the award may donate to the Graduate School section of the endowment at siue.edu/give/.

Photo: SIUE’s Cedric Harville, II, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the School of Education Health and Human Behavior’s Department of Applied Health.