Sonja Harris-Haywood, M.D., M.S., an award-winning family medicine educator, physician and researcher specializing in health disparities and cultural competency, has been appointed Director of the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)-Cleveland State University (CSU) Partnership for Urban Health.

Dr. Harris-Haywood will lead the efforts in refining and advancing NEOMED and CSU’s unique approach to interprofessional education, with physicians learning side-by-side with other health professions, and providing increased opportunities to underrepresented groups in medicine in an effort to diversify the workforce and establish a nationally-recognized model in urban health. Her start date was July 1.

Dr. Harris-Haywood comes to the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, where she spent the past nine years as an assistant professor of family medicine as well as a medical staff physician and preceptor.

Previously, Dr. Harris-Haywood taught family medicine at New Jersey Medical School and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Her extensive clinical experience also includes a position as an emergency-room physician at University Hospitals, as well as positions at community health centers in Washington, D.C., and in New Jersey.

Dr. Harris-Haywood is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Cleveland Medical Association, among other organizations.

With an emphasis on health disparities and cultural competency, Dr. Harris-Haywood has conducted research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. Her work has been published in Archives of Internal Medicine, Medical Care, Journal of the National Medical Association and other peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Harris-Haywood holds a Master of Science degree in clinical investigation from Case Western Reserve University. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree at New Jersey Medical School and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Seton Hall University.

About Northeast Ohio Medical University  

Northeast Ohio Medical University is a community-based, public medical university with a mission to improve the quality of health care in Northeast Ohio working in collaboration with its educational and clinical partners. With a focus on scientific and medical research, and the interprofessional training of health professionals that is unique to the state of Ohio, the University offers a doctor of medicine (M.D.) and a doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree, in addition to graduate-level coursework and research opportunities leading to master’s and doctoral degrees in other medical areas. Northeast Ohio Medical University is a founding member of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron. Visit www.neomed.edu.

About Cleveland State University  

Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969. Today it is part of the University System of Ohio, has more than 100,000 student alumni, and offers over 200 academic programs.