2025 certainly felt more like a minute than a year. The past year brought rapid, unprecedented policy shifts that, while undoubtedly have been challenging to navigate, have also sparked innovation, collaboration, and new opportunities for our Center and partners. Looking into your rearview mirror to reflect on learnings is important as we step into 2026, so this newsletter is us sharing our reflections and learnings with you so we can move forward together.
In 2025, I am proud to say that, as a team, we secured 11 new grants and contracts, published 41 papers, convened 8 community advisory group meetings, 18 key Food Is Medicine policy and practice stakeholder meetings, and supported over 20 students and trainees across projects. We have 13 active Food Is Medicine (FIM) research projects led by Center faculty and staff in partnership with several academic, healthcare, and community organizations. We also conducted a statewide FIM landscape scan to give all of us sightlines for the first time on the 48 FIM programs being implemented across Texas. Our Center faculty secured grants in new areas of healthy aging, including understanding predictors of dementia in older adults and designing community-based interventions to improve cognitive health among at-risk older adults.
2025 also brought important momentum to our Center’s efforts in Texas health policy. In the 89th TX legislative session, Texas passed two landmark bills: HB 26, enabling reimbursement for nutrition-related services, and SB 25, mandating nutrition education in medical school curricula, among many other things. Our team partnered with Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and other statewide leaders to drive evidence-informed policy decision-making. As some of these bills have now passed and been signed into law, we will continue to work with our partners in 2026 to support policy implementation efforts across the state.
The new year also brings a rebrand for the Health Equity Collective, our systems coalition, starting with a new name, Coalition for Connected Care , along with the successful launch of the Community Assistance & Referral Exchange (CARE) Network technology solution supporting closed-loop referrals between healthcare and community organizations. Continue below to read more about all these exciting developments in our newsletter.
As a final reflection, 2025 reminded me of our values, the power of collective impact, and the strength in coming together with and for our communities. For 2026, we remain rooted to grow stronger in our commitment and vision to build healthy people across flourishing communities, and we look forward to creating a shared agenda in partnership with you.
To a bright and healthy New Year,
Director, Center for Health Equity
50
Grants Submitted
11
New Grants Awarded
$5.9Million
Total Funding Awarded
41
Papers Published
41
Journal Publications
27
Active Projects
5206
LinkedIn Followers
1305
LinkedIn Page Views
71
LinkedIn Reposts
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We're proud to celebrate our team’s contributions at the 2025 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.!
"My goal is to prevent dementia in high-risk populations by identifying key risk factors preceding irreversible pathology in the brain and developing targeted strategies for prevention in underserved communities."
—Chelsea Liu, PhD - Specializing in Dementia Prevention in Underserved Populations
"I believe communities already hold the wisdom to nourish both brain and body. My community-centered research creates space for that wisdom to guide the way we design, deliver, and define care."
—Ashley Shaw, PhD - Advancing Community-Driven Brain Health and Healthy Aging
"I am actively seeking collaborative and funding opportunities with stakeholders committed to advancing innovative prevention models grounded in community engagement, relational care, and shared leadership."
—Emily Lemon, PhD - Advancing Community-Led Mental Health Promotion and Prevention
"We have a unique opportunity to improve diet quality across the life course to prevent leading causes of death and disability. Our work paves the way for advances in long-term health among vulnerable populations, including those diagnosed with cancer."
Marcia de Oliveira Otto, PhD - Nutrition Science to Advance Health, Policy, and Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan
"Our lab studies how where people live, work, and age shapes why certain health outcomes occur, and how spatial data can guide community-informed solutions."
Ryan Ramphul, PhD - Understanding How Place Shapes Health and Opportunity
"I am committed to developing and leading community-engaged, evidence-based interventions that, through implementation science–based strategies, promote health behaviors and address chronic disease risks among under-resourced populations."
Ru-Jye Chuang, PhD - Promoting Behavioral Nutrition & Diet Quality Through Food-Based Interventions
"I think we often forget that water touches upon every part of our lives, whether it is the environment, economic opportunities, or human health. I am eager to collaborate in examining the multiple dimensions of water and its relationship to public health."
—Anna Gitter, PhD - Water Management and Its Relationship with Public Health
"As a native Houstonian who grew up in Kashmere Gardens and Settegast, I witnessed firsthand the effects of health inequities on communities. This has been the motivation for my career in social work and public health."
—Serwaa Omowale, PhD - Advancing Maternal Health Equity through Community and Lifespan Approaches
"I study how social, structural, and legal needs influence health throughout the life course, and how interdisciplinary partnerships can be leveraged to improve care coordination, address needs, and enhance health-related outcomes for children and families."
Jemima John, PhD - Advancing Health Outcomes by Addressing Non-Medical Drivers of Health
This study examined how non-medical drivers of health (NMDOH), such as unmet social, economic, and housing needs, impact hospital use among vulnerable adults participating in a 2018 Medical-Legal Partnership pilot program.
The culturally tailored MIND + SOUL diet program for older Black adults was demonstrated to be highly feasible and acceptable and led to meaningful improvements in diet quality, BMI, and executive function, suggesting it may help reduce Alzheimer's disease risk.
A community-driven approach to creating a stakeholder advisory board for a Houston hospital-based violence intervention program proved highly effective, generating key program components and fostering trust, transparency, and cultural relevance that strengthened both immediate and long-term implementation.
Students are a core component of the work at the Center for Health Equity. In 2025, the Center hosted 1 undergraduate student, and our Center faculty mentored 41 PhD students and 40 MPH Students.
CHE Marks Second Year of the Summer Intensive Fellowship Experience
Learning Medicine Beyond the Clinic Through Food Is Medicine Research
The Health Equity Collective has rebranded, starting with a new name: The Coalition for Connected Care. This systems coalition represents the continued commitment of over 375 organizations to collectively drive better health together for our communities. The Center for Health Equity continues to serve as the backbone organization for the Coalition for Connected Care.
The Food is Medicine Core at the Center for Health Equity is actively designing and implementing 13 FIM studies across pediatric, diabetic, and high-risk pregnant populations.
Our FIM Core provides expertise and support in design, implementation, evaluation, institutionalization, and scaling of FIM efforts. Our team of registered dietitians, behavior scientists, epidemiologists, and data scientists uses a data-driven, human-centered design to ensure an equitable approach to FIM.
Collaborating with health systems, payers, community-based organizations, and FIM providers, the Center brings together partnerships, community, and stakeholders to build momentum for sustainable FIM programming across Texas.
Using Power BI and ArcGIS Pro, the Center for Health Equity brings FIM data to life through interactive charts, dashboards, and statewide maps.
In collaboration with our FIM Advisory Board, we conducted a statewide FIM landscape scan to give us sightlines on the 48 FIM programs being implemented across Texas.
Our landscape scan is an ongoing living project that will continue to collect data on FIM implementation across Texas. To share about your FIM project, take the survey here. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to Naomi Tice at [email protected].
The Center for Health Equity hosted a variety of events across 2025. If you're interested in co-hosting an event with us in 2026 or beyond that aligns with our mission and vision, we'd love to hear from you! Reach out to Naomi Tice.
The Center for Health Equity is collaborating closely with About Fresh and Community Health Choice to implement a Food Is Medicine program for high-risk pregnant moms who are members of Community Health Choice, using the About Fresh Fresh Connect card to provide $100/month in fresh fruits and vegetables. The study aims to determine if increased access to fruits and vegetables leads to improved pregnancy and birth outcomes.
“Working with Shreela, Naomi, and the team at the Center for Health Equity has been a powerful experience. They’ve brought an experienced, analytic approach to our collaboration that has strengthened our partnership with Community Health Choice and their patients and promises to inform the Food Is Medicine field with compelling learnings.”
Adam Shyevitch — Chief Program Officer, About Fresh
“Collaborating with the Center for Health Equity and About Fresh has enabled Community Health Choice to provide a lifeline to our most vulnerable members. Together we are empowering families to overcome food insecurity and improve maternal outcomes through an evidenced-based approach that integrates seamlessly with their lives”.
Joshua Fernelius — Director, Population Health at Community Health Choice
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