Jada Brooks Named Carol Morde Ross Distinguished Term Scholar

Dr. Jada Brooks

Jada L. Brooks, PhD, MPSH, RN, FAAN
Carol Morde Ross Distinguished Term Scholar of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and Associate Professor

The Carol Morde Ross Distinguished Professorship in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing was established in 2013 by Carol and Coleman Ross to provide recognition and support to one or more Carolina Nursing faculty members focused on psychiatric-mental health nursing care. In 2014, Dr. Victoria Soltis-Jarrett was named the inaugural Ross Distinguished Professor, a distinction she continues to hold.

Since graduating from the UNC School of Nursing in 1964, Carol Ross has made it her life’s work to alleviate the suffering associated with psychiatric illness and mental health challenges, and she has long been an advocate for the nursing profession and a strong supporter of the UNC School of Nursing.

Nationally recognized for her research and advocacy, Dr. Brooks is committed to helping American Indian women create better environments for themselves and their families that lead to happier and healthier lives, and she is incredibly deserving of the Carol Morde Ross Distinguished Term Professorship.

Nena Peragallo Montano, DrPH, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor

The goals of this professorship perfectly reflect Dr. Brooks’s background and the strengths of the School. She is an associate professor and lead faculty of the PhD program at Carolina Nursing. Her research focuses on promoting environmental health equity in American Indian women, and she is currently investigating how inflammation may link environmental pollutant exposure and psychosocial factors to cardiovascular disease for American Indian women. The findings of her study will inform low-cost and culturally-based psychosocial interventions to reduce their susceptibility to pollutants and improve their health outcomes.