Professor
earlise.ward@fammed.wisc.edu
610 N Whitney Way (Madison)
- University of Wisconsin – PhD, Counseling Psychology
- Brooklyn College – City University of New York – MS, Guidance and Counseling
- Baruch College – City University of New York – BBA, Business Administration
Bio
Earlise Ward, PhD, MS (she/her) is faculty director for the Cancer Health Disparities Initiative (CHDI) and co-director of the T32 Primary Care Research Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Ward conducts community-engaged clinical intervention research focused on African American adults’ mental health and culturally competent mental health services. As a researcher and licensed psychologist, Ward has witnessed first-hand in her clinical practice the impact of mental health disparities among African Americans and is committed to advancing health equity. Her program of research focuses on developing and testing culturally tailored mental health behavioral interventions for African American adults with clinical depression. She has expanded her research on an international level; she is collaborating with researchers in the US Virgin Islands and Ghana, Africa, to develop and test culturally tailored behavioral treatments for clinical depression.
In July 2020, Ward joined the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) in the role of faculty director for the Cancer Health Disparities Initiative. She leads the CHDI in its mission to increase access to cancer care and engagement in clinical research among under-represented racial and ethnic minority populations. She is partnering with the researchers at UWCCC and University of Exeter, UK to examine efficacy of depression intervention delivered on a phone app for patients and survivors of head and neck cancer.
Ward has disseminated her research findings in multiple venues including peer-reviewed publications, presentations at national and international conferences, and presentations to local community agencies and partners.
Research Interests
Ward’s research interests include mental health disparities, cancer burden and survivorship among racial and ethnic minority patients and survivors, and culturally competent mental health behavioral services.
Learn more about Ward’s work:
Publications and Presentations
Awards and Honors
- 2017 Certificate of Recognition, Community-University Partnership Award – University of Wisconsin-Madison
- 2016 Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award – University of Wisconsin-Madison
- 2016 Dr. Brenda Pfaehler Award of Excellence in Mentoring – University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Educational Opportunity
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