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Kaytura
Felix
, MD

Assistant Scientist

Kaytura Felix, MD ‘93, uses research to amplify community solutions to pressing health issues in the United States.

Contact Info

Research Interests

maternal and child health, health equity, community-centered care, health systems, community health

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
BS
University of South Florida
1997
MD
Weill Cornell Medical College
1993
Overview

Kaytura Felix, MD is a Distinguished Scholar in the Department of Health & Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her work focuses on health justice and community solutions to medical racism. She self-describes as a spiritual activist who has pursued health justice in a myriad of professional roles for more than twenty-five years. Her most recent role was as managing director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she led a large portfolio of national leadership programs that supported, strengthened, and networked leaders advancing health equity and addressing structural racism. She trained in medicine, health services, community-based participatory research, and generative leadership coaching.

Honors & Awards
  • HRSA Administrator’s Award for Excellence, 2008
  • U.S. Secretary of Health Group Award for Inaugural National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports, 2004
  • AHRQ Director’s Group Recognition of National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports, 2004
  • AHRQ Director’s Individual Recognition for Developing National Agenda for Community-Based Participatory Research, 2002
Select Publications

Selected publications listed.

  • Felix K, Shim RS. Community Innovations to Improve Black Maternal Health. JAMA Health Forum. 2025 Aug 1;6(8)

  • Vargas N, Lebrun-Harris L, Weinberg J, Dievler A, Felix KL. Qualitative perspective on the learning health system: How the community health applied research network paved the way for research in safety-net settings. Prog Community Health Partnersh, 2018;12(3):329-339

  • Sampson UKA, Kaplan RM, Cooper RS, Diez Roux AV, Marks JS, Engelgau MM, Peprah E, Mishoe H, Boulware LE, Felix KL,...Mensah GA. (2016). Reducing health inequities in the U.S.: Recommendations from the NHLBI's health inequities think tank meeting. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2016;68(5):517-524.

  • Koo D, Felix K, Dankwa-Mullan I, Miller T, Whalen J. A call for action on primary care and public health integration. Am J Public Health, 2012;102 Suppl 3:S307-9.

  • O'Toole T, Aaron K, Chin M, Horowitz C, Tyson F. Community-based participatory research: Opportunities, challenges, and the need for a common language. J Gen Intern Med, 2003;18:592-4.

Projects
Black Birthing Futures Study
Beloved Birth 50 by 50 Nexus Convening
Deep Care podcast (launches March 2026)