Dr. Julia F. Hastings is Associate Professor in the Schools of Public Health and Social Welfare. She is interested in reducing health, economic, and service utilization burdens for racially diverse populations. Her research covers three thematic areas: Physical and mental health disparities (e.g., type II diabetes, depression, and oral health); welfare participation; and poverty. Hastings is currently principal investigator of Black family stress and caregiving of loved ones diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. She enjoys serving on the Black Child Development Community Board. In 2019, she was named Public Health Social Worker of the Year by the PHSW Section of the American Public Health Association. She earned her MSW from the University of Washington and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her postdoctoral training occurred at the University of Michigan in the Program for Research on Black Americans at the Institute for Social Research; the School of Public Policy; and the School of Social Work. She also completed a certification in epidemiology from the Department of Epidemiology at University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.