Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Miller is the inaugural Director of the Center for Community Health and vitality (CCHV) at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The Center for Community Health and vitality is an initiative of the Urban Health Initiative (UHI). The CCHV supports the efforts of the University of Chicago Medical Center and the University of Chicago and complements the medical services provided to local residents in the Medical Center hospitals and clinics. Community Grand Rounds, a project of the CCHV, is a series of events held in a community setting and focuses on how the University of Chicago research can help improve health on the south side.

Dr. Miller brings more than 20 years of experience as a community-based primary care provider who has worked with under-served, minority populations, with a special interest in behavioral health. Dr. Miller worked for 5 years as a program vice-President at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where she was responsible for strategic planning and program design in the clinical quality improvement area, using clinical and community-based strategies. Programs developed under her direction include demonstration projects designed to help improve the quality of care for people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and depression. She served as Medical Director of the Maxine Hall Health Center of the San Francisco Department of Health, while also serving as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco. In 2016, Dr. Miller was awarded the Midwest society of General Internal Medicine Advocacy and Community service Award.

Dr. Keme Carter is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine where she serves as Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Associate Vice-Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Education for the Department of Medicine, and the Director of the Emergency Medicine Clerkship. Dr. Carter obtained her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, her medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Dr. Carter has been recognized for her excellence as a medical educator by her peers, residents, and students. At the Pritzker School of Medicine, she has been inducted as a Master in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators. She has been honored for her contributions to medical education with the Doroghazi Outstanding Clinical Teaching Award, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, and the Biological Sciences Division Distinguished Educator/Mentor Award for Excellence in Clinical Education.

Dr. Carter’s research interests are focused on exploring the nuance of communication within the emergency department and developing and studying curricular innovations to improve patient-centered physician communication. Additionally, through her research, writing, public speaking engagements, and medical school admissions work, Dr. Carter continues to advocate for and work towards optimizing and ensuring an equitable pathway to medical school and residency for students of diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Monica Peek is the Ellen H. Block Professor of Health Justice at the University of Chicago, where she provides clinical care, teaches and does health services research. She is an internist who strives to provide comprehensive humanistic care for her patients.

Dr. Peek’s research pursues health equity and social justice, with a focus on promoting equitable doctor/patient relationships among racial minorities, integrating the medical and social needs of patients, and addressing healthcare discrimination and structural racism that impact health outcomes (e.g., diabetes, COVID-19). Dr. Peek has authored over 150 peer-reviewed papers, and has served as the principal investigator for multiple grants from institutions such as NIDDK, NHLBI, PCORI, AHRQ, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, the Merck Foundation and others.

Dr. Peek is the Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research, the Executive Medical Director of Community Health Innovation and the Director of Research (and Associate Director) at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is a Senior Associate Editor for the journal Health Services Research and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Peek’s research has been featured in national media outlets such as The Chicago Tribune, NPR, PRI/The World, CNN, Democracy Now, CBS, ABC, TIME Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, STAT News, and The Huffington Post.

Dr. LaShore is an Internal Medicine physician in the Comprehensive Care Program in the Section of Hospital Medicine, specializing in the care of complex adult patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. After earning her undergraduate degree in Biology at Yale University, she received her medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed her residency at NY Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University. Upon completing her residency, she moved to Chicago to join the Comprehensive Care Program at the University of Chicago, where she now serves as the Director of Clinical Operations. During her time at UChicago, she has also been a faculty scholar with the LUCENT program, a program that provides skills to become leaders in transforming primary care in underserved, urban settings.

Dr. LaShore’s interests include clinical operations, healthcare delivery innovation, healthcare disparities, improving transitions of care between the inpatient and outpatient settings, and quality improvement. Dr. LaShore is also the course director for the Comprehensive Care Program 4th year medical student elective and a preceptor for 1st year medical students for the Patient Centered Longitudinal Experience.

Dr. Onajin is a dermatologist and fellowship-trained dermatopathologist. Dr Onajin joined the University of Chicago after completing her medical and residency training at the Mayo Clinic and her fellowship training at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr Onajin’s clinical and research interests include complex medical dermatology, skin of color, and the utility of clinical-pathologic correlation to improve diagnostic accuracy of dermatologic diseases. Dr. Onajin specializes in dermatologic diseases that disproportionately impact skin of color patients including sarcoidosis, lupus erythematosus and hidradenitis suppurativa.

Dr Onajin is an active member of the DEI committee for the Section of Dermatology. Dr Onajin is the recipient of the 2020 BSD Distinguished Faculty Award for Distinguished Community Service and Advocacy (Junior faculty category).

Dr. James N. Woodruff is the Dean of Students for the Pritzker School of Medicine. His 8-year tenure as director of the internal medicine residency program and 6-year tenure as the Department of Medicine’s Vice Chair for Education provide him with broad perspective on the medical training pathway. He is a practicing general internist, caring for patients in ambulatory settings on the South Side of Chicago. His areas of scholarship include medical professional development, complexity in medicine, adaptive behavior, practical wisdom, and diversity & inclusion.

A major focus of Dr. Woodruff’s efforts to promote professional development in both residents and students is an emphasis on social justice. As a residency director, he enhanced diversity in the residency program through the implementation of a visiting clerkship program and the development of a minority resident organization. He created the University of Chicago Medicine’s first resident continuity clinic caring exclusively for uninsured patients. He has enhanced quality and ethical standards of practice at the Pritzker School of Medicine’s six free clinics. Over ninety percent of Pritzker students serve in these clinics before graduation. He serves as co-chair for the Pritzker School of Medicine’s Identity and Inclusion Committee and on the Board of Directors for the Provident Foundation, a community based organization that strives to enhance opportunity for South Side youth interested in health careers.