Dr. Nynikka Palmer Receives the 2025 Claire D. Brindis Award!

ARC Core Faculty member, Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, earned the 2025 Claire D. Brindis Award for Community Engagement & Service in Health Policy Research!

The Award for Community Engagement and Service in Health Policy Research is bestowed annually on a UCSF faculty member who embodies Dr. Brindis’ commitment to giving voice, representation, and service to historically underserved communities; this advocacy and research in healthcare design inform policymaking in ways which achieve tangible gains in health and well-being.

Dr. Palmer’s research focuses on developing actionable solutions with cultural influences to enhance delivery of high-quality prostate cancer care for African American/Black men in public safety net settings, using interventions such as peer navigation, relationship-centered communication skills training, and digital communication tools for providers to improve health outcomes.

"Dr. Palmer is a brilliant and accomplished researcher and community advocate who has dedicated her life to improving the wellbeing of African-American men with prostate cancer,” commended a letter nominating Dr. Palmer,  “She has consistently engaged the stakeholder, focused on developing tools to improve communication and care, and gave voice to those long exposed to care disparities."

Dr. Palmer is an Associate Professor at UCSF in the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at ZSFG, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Urology and Radiation Oncology. She leads the Prostate Cancer Task Force of the San Francisco Cancer Initiative, serves as Associate Director for the Center for Aging in Diverse Communites, is the Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility for Faculty within the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is the Vice President of Research for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare.

Congratulations, Dr. Palmer!