40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
Alumna and former faculty member embraces Khoury’s interdisciplinary approach
Andrea Grimes Parker is currently on the faculty at Georgia Tech, holds courtesy faculty appointments at three additional universities, and is the founder and director of her own research lab focusing on the intersection of technology, health, and medicine. It’s a full plate, doing work she loves, and Parker would have it no other way.
Andrea Grimes Parker
It was her time at Northeastern University, first as an undergraduate student and later as a faculty member, where she took the university’s interdisciplinary message to heart and found her passion for human-computer interaction—and her ability to successfully juggle multiple projects at the same time.
Even before Parker discovered what she wanted to focus on within computing, she knew that Northeastern would be the right place to begin her education. While visiting as a prospective student, she could see the school was excited to have her join their community and that she would be supported in her studies. Professor Bryant York met with Parker and her parents and offered her an opportunity to conduct research in her first year, a rare opportunity. She pursued further research opportunities during her co-op, which prepared her well for graduate school and set the trajectory for her career.
“I had so many faculty members, mentors, and supporters that helped me feel like I could achieve my goals,” she says. “That I had a promising future.” For her many research efforts, Parker earned the Computing Research Association Outstanding Undergraduate Award.
During graduate school, Parker began to focus on the intersection of technology, health, and well-being through digital health equity research. After earning her PhD, she returned to Northeastern in a dual appointment at Khoury College of Computer Sciences and Bouvé College of Health Sciences. “It was so rewarding not to have to choose one discipline over another,” she says. “Going to faculty meetings and talks and mentoring students from both worlds was extremely rewarding. Then, bringing it all together and creating this lab of interdisciplinary students where public health students were working alongside computer science students [not only] made me enjoy the work, but I think it was also essential for doing the kind of research that I was doing.”
“It was so rewarding not to have to choose one discipline over another. Going to faculty meetings and talks and mentoring students from both worlds was extremely rewarding. Then, bringing it all together and creating this lab of interdisciplinary students where public health students were working alongside computer science students [not only] made me enjoy the work, but I think it was also essential for doing the kind of research that I was doing.” — Andrea Grimes Parker
Today, in addition to being an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, Parker is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education within the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, and an affiliate faculty member in the Cardiovascular Research Institute. Additionally, she is founder and director of the Wellness Technology Research Lab.
Her digital health equity research continues to look at the intersection of human-computer interaction, social computing, and public health. One of her team’s key research efforts lies in using data to design and build tools that help people overcome health disparities, such as apps and digital games that support low-income and African American families to reach their health goals. Another aspect of her research is looking at how social computing can help people to, not just overcome health inequities, but combat the disparities directly through social activism. Some of this work has included looking at how to help young people become more critically conscious of societal inequities. She and her colleagues have developed effective digital interventions that support rural Black women in managing their postpartum well-being.
When asked how she manages her multiple faculty appointments and research efforts, Parker points to her start at Northeastern, particularly her years as a professor in both Khoury College and Bouvé College. “I have to always operate this way,” she said. “I don’t want to only have an affiliation to computing. I want to also have my feet in public health and the medical world. Being able to have that kind of appointment was important, as was Northeastern’s embracing of interdisciplinary work and seeing that as important and valuable.”
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Alumna and former faculty member embraces Khoury’s interdisciplinary approach
Andrea Grimes Parker is currently on the faculty at Georgia Tech, holds courtesy faculty appointments at three additional universities, and is the founder and director of her own research lab focusing on the intersection of technology, health, and medicine. It’s a full plate, doing work she loves, and Parker would have it no other way.
Andrea Grimes Parker
It was her time at Northeastern University, first as an undergraduate student and later as a faculty member, where she took the university’s interdisciplinary message to heart and found her passion for human-computer interaction—and her ability to successfully juggle multiple projects at the same time.
Even before Parker discovered what she wanted to focus on within computing, she knew that Northeastern would be the right place to begin her education. While visiting as a prospective student, she could see the school was excited to have her join their community and that she would be supported in her studies. Professor Bryant York met with Parker and her parents and offered her an opportunity to conduct research in her first year, a rare opportunity. She pursued further research opportunities during her co-op, which prepared her well for graduate school and set the trajectory for her career.
“I had so many faculty members, mentors, and supporters that helped me feel like I could achieve my goals,” she says. “That I had a promising future.” For her many research efforts, Parker earned the Computing Research Association Outstanding Undergraduate Award.
During graduate school, Parker began to focus on the intersection of technology, health, and well-being through digital health equity research. After earning her PhD, she returned to Northeastern in a dual appointment at Khoury College of Computer Sciences and Bouvé College of Health Sciences. “It was so rewarding not to have to choose one discipline over another,” she says. “Going to faculty meetings and talks and mentoring students from both worlds was extremely rewarding. Then, bringing it all together and creating this lab of interdisciplinary students where public health students were working alongside computer science students [not only] made me enjoy the work, but I think it was also essential for doing the kind of research that I was doing.”
“It was so rewarding not to have to choose one discipline over another. Going to faculty meetings and talks and mentoring students from both worlds was extremely rewarding. Then, bringing it all together and creating this lab of interdisciplinary students where public health students were working alongside computer science students [not only] made me enjoy the work, but I think it was also essential for doing the kind of research that I was doing.” — Andrea Grimes Parker
Today, in addition to being an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, Parker is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education within the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, and an affiliate faculty member in the Cardiovascular Research Institute. Additionally, she is founder and director of the Wellness Technology Research Lab.
Her digital health equity research continues to look at the intersection of human-computer interaction, social computing, and public health. One of her team’s key research efforts lies in using data to design and build tools that help people overcome health disparities, such as apps and digital games that support low-income and African American families to reach their health goals. Another aspect of her research is looking at how social computing can help people to, not just overcome health inequities, but combat the disparities directly through social activism. Some of this work has included looking at how to help young people become more critically conscious of societal inequities. She and her colleagues have developed effective digital interventions that support rural Black women in managing their postpartum well-being.
When asked how she manages her multiple faculty appointments and research efforts, Parker points to her start at Northeastern, particularly her years as a professor in both Khoury College and Bouvé College. “I have to always operate this way,” she said. “I don’t want to only have an affiliation to computing. I want to also have my feet in public health and the medical world. Being able to have that kind of appointment was important, as was Northeastern’s embracing of interdisciplinary work and seeing that as important and valuable.”
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© 2024 Northeastern University
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
x
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
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About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
© 2024 Northeastern University
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
x
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...