OUR TEAM
Team Members at Oregon Health & Science University
Raina Croff, PhD
Director (Principal Investigator)
Patrice Fuller, BS
Research Assistant
Mentoring Matters
SHARP provides research opportunities for minority scholars
Raina Croff, PhD - Principal Investigator
Dr. Croff is Assistant Professor of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University since 2015. Born and raised in Portland, OR, she received her PhD in anthropology from Yale University in 2009, with a focus on the African Diaspora. Dr. Croff’s work focuses on how culture impacts health and acts as a lens through which people interpret health literature, messaging, programming, and research participation. Her research seeks to increase physical activity and social engagement among older African Americans in ways that celebrate culture, history, and community memory. She is passionate about mentoring through the SHARP study.
Patrice Fuller, BS
With her family roots in Portland and Clinton, MS, she graduated with her psychology degree in 2016 from Pacific University. Her interests are in non-pharmacological interventions for healthier mental and cognitive aging as well as investigating psychological effects of social stress within the Africana diaspora. She hopes to pursue her MPH in primary health care and health disparities within the next coming years.
Chanelle Parris, BS
Chanelle is recent graduate from Portland State University, earning a degree in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. She plans to continue her education and pursue a career in brain health research investigating the racial health disparities and barriers that exist within the Black and African American populations.
Past Contributors
Researchers who helped coordinate the SHARP study in the past
Juell Towns
Former Research Assistant
Edline Francois, BA
Former Study Coordinator
André Pruitt, LCSW
Former Research Assistant
Chanelle Parris, BS
Former Research Assistant
Juell Towns, BS
Juell Towns is an undergraduate at Portland State University studying community health education. She is an NIH-BUILD Exito scholar and a Ronald E. McNair fellow. Juell serves as an undergraduate research assistant for the Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-imagery (SHARP) study. Juell is passionate about working interpersonally with underrepresented and underserved communities and is committed to centering equity and justice in her work.
Edline Francois, BA
Edline graduated with a bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences in 2017. Her education and life experience have fostered a passion for public health. This passion has led her to work in health promotion, maternal-child health, and health disparities research, specifically Alzheimer's disease. My research interests are: maternal child health especially in Black women and healthy aging of older Black women.
André Pruitt, MSW, LCSW
Andre is a doctoral student and adjunct instructor at Portland State University in the School of Social Work. He is also a research scientist at the NIA - Layton Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Oregon Health & Science University. Andre’s research interests include cognitive changes as we age, culturally responsive research methodologies and healthy aging through the Africana Methodology.
Chanelle Paris, BS
Chanelle's biography is listed in the "Mentoring Matters" section.