Sharon Jones-Eversley, an assistant professor of family studies at Towson University, has been honored with the distinguished PRIDE Award by the National Institutes of Health. PRIDE is an acronym for the Program to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research.
Dr. Jones-Eversley’s research focuses on cardiovascular health disparities in African-Americans. “Professionally, I am very concerned with the alarming rates in which African-Americans are experiencing cardiovascular disease and succumbing to cardiovascular-related deaths,” she says. “African-Americans’ chronic stress, poor diets, physical inactivity, geographic locations (i.e., dense urban dwellings) and hypertension result in them dying from cardiovascular disease younger and sicker than any other racial or ethnic group in this country.”
Dr. Jones-Eversley holds a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in public health from Morgan State University in Baltimore. She also earned a master’s degree in ethical and legal studies from the University of Baltimore.