Departmental Affiliations
Keshia Pollack Porter, PhD ’06, MPH, uses research to advance policies that promote health equity, especially where people live, work, play, and travel.
Research Interests
Health equity, social determinants of health; health in all policies (HiAP), built environment; injury prevention; evidence-informed public health policy
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
I am the Bloomberg Centennial Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management. I am also a Bloomberg Centennial Professor and director of the BSPH Institute for Health and Social Policy (IHSP). I am a health equity scholar whose research advances policies that create safe and healthy environments where people live, work, play, and travel, with an emphasis on addressing structural drivers of health through policy change and promoting effective cross-sector collaborations. I have published over 200 articles and am one of the co-authors of the book, Policy Engagement, a 2023 publication by APHA Press designed to provide practitioners with the tools to engage in the policy process. Since 2019, I have directed the Health Policy Research Scholars – a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – that trains doctoral students representing various disciplines as leaders in health policy who can advance health equity. I am an elected member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health and the National Academy of Medicine.
Honors & Awards
- National Academy of Medicine, 2023
- Bloomberg Centennial Professor, 2021
- Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumna Award, 2018
- 50 Women to Watch Maryland, 2014
- Advising, Mentoring, Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), 2011, 2014, 2019
- President Alpha Chapter, Delta Omega Honor Society, 2013-2015
- APHA Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Mid-Career Outstanding Service Award, 2012
- Greater Baltimore Committee, The LEADership Program, Class of 2011
- 2011 recipient of The Daily Record's Very Important Professionals Successful by 40
- Leon S. Robertson Career Development Chair in Injury Prevention, Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2006-2009
- Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, Alpha Chapter, Johns Hopkins University, 2006
Select Publications
Select publications for the last several years.
Pollack Porter KM, Goheer A, Harrington J, Frattaroli S (2025) Training Doctoral Students to Advance Health Equity Through Policy Leadership: An Overview of the Health Policy Research Scholars Program, Health Equity 00:0, 000–000, DOI: 10.1089/heq.2024.0159.
Carignan S, Lindberg R, Tung G, Sullivan J, Stone C, Pollack Porter KM. Legislative Health Notes: Preliminary Learnings from Piloting a New Policy Analysis Tool. Journal of Public Health Practice and Management, 30(3): p E135-142, May/June 2024; DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001866.
Heller JC, Fleming PJ, Petteway RJ, Givens M, Pollack Porter KM. Power Up: A Call for Public Health to Recognize, Analyze, and Shift the Balance in Power Relations to Advance Health and Racial Equity. American Journal of Public Health. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/epdf/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307380.
Pollack KM. Teaching Health Impact Assessment in an Online Format. Chronicles of Health Impact Assessment 2022; 7(1), p 25-30, DOI: 10.18060/26471.
Sohn E, Stein LJ, Wolpoff A, Lindberg R, Baum A, McInnis-Simoncelli, Pollack KM. Avenues of Influence: The Relationship between Health Impact Assessment and Determinants of Health and Health Equity. Journal of Urban Health 2018; Jun 11. doi: 10.1007/s11524-018-0263-5.