Erica Anderson Earns Florida Education Fund McKnight Doctoral Fellowship

Erica Anderson, research coordinator for the Disparities in Arthritis Pain and Physical Activity (DAPPA) research study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Bethune-Cookman University and Halifax Health, and former graduate student in clinical counseling, has been accepted as a Florida Education Fund McKnight Doctoral Fellow.

Up to 50 fellowships are awarded annually to study at one of nine participating Florida universities. Each award provides annual tuition up to $5,000. Tuition above this amount is waived by the participating institution for each of three academic years, plus an annual stipend of $12,000. An additional two years of support at this same level is provided by the participating institution. The award also includes a comprehensive system of academic support.

“This is a win for everyone and I am humbled to have been selected for the fellowship program," said Anderson. "I am deeply appreciative of everyone who has helped me get to where I am now and where I will be going. It is an amazing accomplishment and a great start to a wonderful journey." Anderson will attend University of South Florida in the fall as a student in the behavioral and community sciences Ph.D. program.

Currently, Anderson trains as a minority health and health disparities researcher at B-CU investigating chronic pain among aging women. She also mentors undergraduate research assistants in performing literature reviews, dataset building, data analysis, and abstract submission writing and participates in the development of grant proposals, while serving as the project liaison and conducting community-based research.