Research - Ijeoma Kola

Research

I am a historian of public health whose research broadly examines historical, social, and cultural understandings of health and disease in African and African American communities.

My current book project, “I Can’t Breathe: Racism and the Rise of Asthma in Black Urban America,” is an intellectual history of medical and cultural perceptions of race and asthma in nineteenth and twentieth century America.

Education

PhD, 2019, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

MA, 2014, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

BA, 2012, History of Science, Harvard University (cum laude)

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Gollust SE, Eboh I, Barry CL. “Picturing obesity: analyzing the social epidemiology of obesity conveyed through US news media images.” Social Science and Medicine. 2012. 74:1544-1551

Blogs & Opinions

“Asthma and the Civil Rights Movement,” Books, Health, and History (blog), New York Academy of Medicine, October 4, 2017.

“Now Is the Perfect Time for Black Women To Apply To Doctorate Programs,” Zora, October 27, 2020.

Presentations

“‘Smaller Lung Capacity of the Colored Race’: The Debate on Asthma and Hay Fever Susceptibility, 1874- 1922.” American Historical Association, 2018.

“Unable to Breathe: Race, Asthma, and Protest in Civil Rights Era New Orleans and New York.” New York Academy of Medicine, 2017.

“Unable to Breathe: Race, Asthma, and the Environment in Civil Rights Era New Orleans and New York.” American Association for the History of Medicine, 2016.

“Evolving Notions of Asthma: Race, Class, and the City.” Poster Presentation at the Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Grantees’ Conference, 2014.

Teaching

Contemporary Concerns in Medicine, University of Notre Dame

History of Race and Racism in Science, University of Notre Dame

Media Appearances

Why Racial Disparities in Asthma Are an Urban Planning Issue

History of Asthma and Its Relationship to Race w/ Dr. Ijeoma Kola

Contact