Assistant Professor
Community Health and Prevention
kofoworola.williams@drexel.edu
Download CV

Degrees

PhD, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University
MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
CAS, Global Health, Syracuse University
BS, Biology, Syracuse University

Bio

Dr. Kofoworola D.A. Williams is a social and behavioral scientist and intervention researcher whose research program advances mental health equity for Black emerging adults, with a particular focus on Black men.

Dr. Williams’s research integrates behavioral science, digital mental health, and implementation science to investigate how social relationships, trust, coping, and community assets shape mental health and engagement with care among Black emerging adult men. Using mixed methods, community-engaged research, and human-centered design, she translates these insights into culturally responsive, accessible digital mental health interventions that are co-designed with Black emerging adults and grounded in their lived experiences, priorities, and strengths.

Her research is currently supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a K01 Career Development Award and a Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program Award, both funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This support enables her to develop and evaluate a community-engaged digital mental health intervention for Black emerging adult men while building her independent research program in intervention science. Her contributions to health equity research have also been recognized through her selection to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Health Disparities Research Institute.

She also leads the Pathways to Mental Health Equity (PMHE) Working Group, a community-focused research initiative supported by Drexel University's Urban Health Collaborative (UHC). PMHE brings together researchers, students, clinicians, community organizations, and Black young adults to create culturally grounded digital mental health strategies that promote mental health and well-being among Black young adults in Philadelphia.

Previously, Dr. Williams was a Faculty Fellow in Drexel University's Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program, an NIH-funded initiative supporting the recruitment and career development of early-career faculty conducting health equity and disparities research. Prior to joining Drexel University, she completed a National Research Service Award (NRSA) T32 postdoctoral fellowship in digital mental health at Northwestern University's Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs). She earned her PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Doctoral Scholar. She also holds a Master of Public Health from Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Global Health, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Syracuse University.

Research Interests

• Behavioral Intervention Development & Evaluation
• Black Men's Mental Health
• Community-Engaged Research
• Digital Mental Health
• Emerging Adulthood
• Human-Centered Design
• Implementation Science
• Mental Health Equity

Publications

See Dr. Williams's full list of publications on PubMed