Inaugural Chicagoland Community Research Fellows Named

The Alliance for Research with Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) at Northwestern University has announced the inaugural cohort of Chicagoland Community Research Fellows — a transformative program designed to deepen community leaders’ ability to engage in equitable, community-driven research partnerships.

This 18-month Fellowship supports community-based leaders and their organizations in building capacity to shape research that reflects their lived experiences, advances health equity, and drives meaningful change in the communities they serve. Fellows will participate in a learning community facilitated by Northwestern University faculty and community leaders. They will also receive a stipend of $18,000, professional development,  and access to Northwestern University services — including library resources, consultation support, and training opportunities — to develop and implement an organizational research capacity-building project. The fellowship program is supported by funding from the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute through its National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences grant from the NIH (UM1TR005121).

“This Fellowship was created over the past year, using human-centered design principles, deeply informed by the voices of community leaders and lived experience. It’s a program I wish existed when I was a nonprofit executive working in Chicago — one that supports and invests in community vision, expands research capacity, and centers the health issues that matter most to our communities,” says Sherida Morrison, ARCC associate director.

Each member of the inaugural cohort brings a powerful vision, deep community roots, and a commitment to justice-centered research. The fellow are: