Jolaade was promoted to Associate Professor effective August, 2026!
Dr. Jolaade Kalinowski is a behavioral cardiovascular researcher. Her research focuses on the role of chronic stress and physical activity in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, with a particular focus on Black women. She initially began her research career in the stress and cardiovascular disease realm, but recently expanded her interests to include physical activity, given its important role in CVD risk prevention. She is currently working on an NIH-funded grant on mind body physical activity, which combines elements of stress management, mindfulness and physical activity among Black women with hypertension.
Jolaade had a somewhat circuitous route to research, but has always been committed to social justice issues. She is a 1st generation American, raised outside of Washington, DC, with immigrant parents from Nigeria. Being the eldest daughter of immigrant parents, she has always faced adversity and challenge with determination. At 6, her father passed away from cancer which caused her family to endure significant economic hardship and stress. The loss of her father as a child impacted her greatly, ultimately becoming a driving force for her interests in social justice. She observed how psychosocial factors and stressors have important health consequences that can also exacerbate health disparities and social justice issues.
Jolaade pursued the interdisciplinary major at American University in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government. Following college, she obtained a Master’s in International Affairs from Georgetown University, discovering public health research and realizing that she could pursue a research career that would allow her to study the very issues that led to her interest in social justice. Jolaade pursued further education at Columbia University, Teachers College to study health and behavior. As a doctoral student she conducted research in stress and chronic pain among women. This experience sparked an interest in disparities in chronic disease and women’s health, which inspired her future postdoctoral work.
As a postdoctoral fellow at the New York University School of Medicine, Jolaade recognized the CVD disparities facing Black women and felt compelled to explore this area further. As a Black woman herself, she felt a personal connection to this disparity, and chose to center her research around this particular population. When she had the opportunity to join HDFS as part of the health disparities cluster-hire, Jolaade was confident that HDFS would be an excellent place to pursue research and teaching. Her favorite part of HDFS is the interdisciplinary nature of faculty and their research interests. She has enjoyed working with faculty on various interdisciplinary teams and research collaborations.
In her spare time, Jolaade loves Pilates, iced coffee and cooking meals inspired from traditions from around the world.