Workshop description

In this seminar, participants will learn about the SEED Health Atlas and gain hands-on experience. The Atlas is a resource for the community and researchers to learn about health and drivers of health in the Durham area. With the Atlas, you can easily visualize social, environmental, and climate factors from multiple geographic levels across the United States and compare characteristics over time. The SEED Health Atlas can be used by community members, healthcare researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations to understand how where a person lives impacts their health.

The seminar will be at an introductory level with foundational concepts around how location-based data and information about health-related social needs are structured. Participants will also engage with hands-on exercises to investigate questions and gain experience with the Atlas.

This event is part of the NCCU-Duke Health Data Studio Series and hosted by North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the Duke-NCCU Bridge Office, and the Duke AI Health Community of Practice. Light refreshments will be served.

Register for the workshop here: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6Jt3jdAMPAHZ76e

Who should attend?

NCCU faculty and students are encouraged to attend, especially those with an interest in clinical research and health data science. Faculty and students from other academic institutions and interested community members are also encouraged to join. There is no fee to attend or participate.

Registration is limited to 75 people, and participants must be 18 years old or older to register and participate in the workshop.

Workshop Instructors

Nrupen Bhavsar, PhD is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University, where he leads innovative research at the intersection of epidemiology, informatics, and public health. His work focuses on chronic disease and the social determinants of health (SDOH), using real-world data—such as electronic health records and neighborhood-level indicators—to uncover how structural and environmental factors shape health outcomes. A key contributor to the S.E.E.D. Health Atlas, Dr. Bhavsar helps translate complex data into actionable insights for policymakers and healthcare providers. This platform maps SDOH across North Carolina, enabling targeted interventions in communities facing systemic disadvantage. His research has revealed how historical policies like redlining continue to influence present-day health disparities, particularly in Durham, NC, where neighborhoods with high eviction rates and low voter participation show elevated rates of chronic diseases. These findings have informed public health strategies and urban planning efforts aimed at promoting health equity. Through NIH-funded projects, Dr. Bhavsar also addresses racial disparities in kidney health and the ethical use of electronic health data, further shaping national health policy. By combining rigorous data science with a deep commitment to social justice, Dr. Bhavsar is helping to redefine how health systems understand and respond to the root causes of disease. His work not only advances academic knowledge but also helps to reshape how we understand and address health disparities in both local and national contexts.

Bryttani Wooten, PhD, MA is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs at North Carolina Central University, where she advances interdisciplinary research at the intersection of climate science, environmental health, and reproductive justice. Trained as both a meteorologist and geographer, Dr. Wooten’s work examines how environmental and social conditions shape health outcomes, with a particular focus on Black maternal health in the U.S. South. Her research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand how factors such as extreme weather, climate change, neighborhood environments, and systemic inequities influence pregnancy and birth outcomes. Drawing from expertise across the physical, social, and health sciences, Dr. Wooten develops innovative frameworks that center the lived experiences and knowledge of Black communities. Her scholarship explores how environmental exposures intersect with historical and contemporary social conditions to contribute to health disparities, while also highlighting community strengths, resilience, and pathways toward health equity. Through her research, publications, and collaborative partnerships, Dr. Wooten contributes to a growing body of work that reimagines how researchers, policymakers, and healthcare leaders approach environmental health and reproductive justice. By bridging climate science, public health, and community-engaged scholarship, she is helping to advance more equitable and holistic understandings of maternal and reproductive health.

Why are we holding this workshop?

One important priority for us in our Duke-NCCU partnership is to foster collaboration and innovation through data access and resources. This is the second workshop that we’ve held at NCCU to foster collaboration around data and platform access. You can read more about our first workshop (held in May 2026) at https://aihealth.duke.edu/2026-nccu-fcap/ and learn about the experiences of workshop participants in the impact report.