Raymona Lawrence, DPH

Director of Research

Dr. Raymona Lawrence serves as the Director of Research for the Sickle Cell Community Consortium. She has dedicated her career to community engagement and the elimination of health inequities and health disparities as they relate to African Americans living in rural populations—especially those with chronic diseases such as sickle cell disease. Her research and practice focus on discovering how healthcare delivery systems, public health, formal and informal community organizations, and participants come together to more effectively address health inequities/disparities in rural areas as well as how research related to community capacity can contribute to addressing health disparities. Dr. Lawrence is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Community Health in the Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University (GSU). Dr. Lawrence holds both a DrPH in Community Health Behavior and Education and an MPH in Community Health from GSU.

Dr. Lawrence began her work, professionally, with sickle cell disease (SCD) in 2000 when she worked as a Research Professional in the Titus H.J. Huisman Hemoglobinopathy Laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University). She began to focus her research on SCD during her doctoral studies and as a result was awarded the American Public Health Association Genomics Forum’s New Investigator award for her dissertation research abstract, “National Collegiate Athletic Association mandated sickle cell trait screening policy: Implications for the athlete.” She has also received training in functional and applied genetics and genomics as a member of the 2012 Cohort of the Programs to Increase Diversity in Individuals Engaged in Health Related Research (PRIDE)-a two-year program for junior faculty sponsored by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Dr. Lawrence has served on and chaired several regional and national committees related to SCD and trait and has served as the principle investigator of a project that examines community based approaches to SCD transition.