2022 Distinguished Career Award: Enrique Neblett, Jr., PhD

2022 Distinguished Career Award: Enrique Neblett, Jr., PhD

SCCAP is delighted to present the 2022 Distinguished Career Award to Enrique Neblett, Jr., Ph.D. in recognition of his impactful program of research and dedication to the advancement of clinical child psychology. Dr. Neblett serves as professor of health behavior and health education at University of Michigan, where he also serves as co-lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Neblett is also associate director of the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center. Prior to his tenure at University of Michigan, Dr. Neblett was a professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Dr. Neblett’s research investigating the effects of racism on the mental and physical health of Black/African American youth has enhanced our understanding of both the deleterious impact of racism and factors that can worsen or protect against racism’s effects. His work has been highly valuable in informing community-wide and clinical interventions as well as in shaping policy.

Dr. Neblett has employed an integrative approach to understanding racial stress on African American adolescents and young adults, incorporating assessments of psychology, biology and public health measures. More recently, Dr. Neblett has focused on the development and examination of community-based interventions and policies to protect against the negative effects of racism and to promote health equity. His work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation, among many others.

In 2021, Dr. Neblett’s distinguished body of work was awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health as the inaugural recipient of the James Jackson Memorial Award. His excellence in teaching and mentorship has also been recognized across graduate and undergraduate teaching. Additionally, he was named Mentor of the Year by the Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development.

Dr. Neblett is a leader in the field of child and adolescent mental health and his work has significantly contributed to the field’s understanding of the impacts of racism on health. Please join us in congratulating him for receiving SCCAP’s Distinguished Career Award. Dr. Neblett will present his work at the upcoming APA Convention in August 2022.  In his talk, entitled, Sankofa: Looking Back to Go Forward in Racism and Youth Mental Health Research, Dr. Neblett will 1) review past work linking racism-related stress experiences and mental health among Black American youth, underlying mechanisms, and protective mechanisms that mitigate the mental health sequelae of racism and discrimination; and 2) describe future research examining structural racism and discrimination as a determinant of mental health and evaluating mental health-enhanced workforce development programs in Detroit, Michigan.