Centering Community: Collaborative Approaches to Health Behavior Research

Please join AAHB’s Professional Development and Mentoring Council  (PDMC) for the first speaker in our annual webinar series. This year's series aligns with the focus of AAHB's upcoming Annual Conference, which will be held in Austin, TX, from March 29-April 1, 2026. The theme of this year's conference is "Centering Community in Health Behavior Research and Practice" (conference link: https://aahb.org/2026-Scientific-Meeting-Overview/). Our first PDMC webinar session will be held on on Wednesday,  January 14, 2026, 4:00pm – 5:00pm (EST).

This webinar, hosted by the American Academy of Health Behavior, will explore the value and impact of community-engaged research in advancing public health and behavioral science. Participants will gain an understanding of the benefits of working collaboratively with community partners and how these approaches strengthen research relevance, equity, and sustainability. The session will provide an overview of diverse models of engagement—including Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Participatory Action Research (PAR), action research frameworks, and community–academic partnerships—that center community voice throughout the research process. Examples from ongoing and completed projects will be shared to illustrate how these collaborative approaches can be successfully integrated into behavioral research across a variety of contexts.

This session will be led by Dr. Yumary Ruiz, Associate Professor of Public Health at Purdue University. Dr. Ruiz is a nationally recognized scholar whose research focuses on health disparities affecting Latino and immigrant communities, youth and family well-being, and the role of social and structural determinants in shaping behavioral health outcomes. She employs community-engaged and participatory methodologies to co-develop culturally grounded interventions with community partners.