Human development professor elected Fellow of New York Academy of Medicine

Health equity has no overnight solution, but for Leo Wilton, professor of human development at Binghamton University’s College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA), years of pursuing it became the building block of a successful academic career.

For his research, leadership and policy contributions across professions affecting health, Wilton was elected in June as a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), a health policy and advocacy organization with a 175-year history that serves as a leading voice for innovation in public health.

“This is an extraordinary honor,” said Wilton, whose research includes addressing health inequities surrounding HIV prevention and care in communities of color, Black psychological development and mental health, as well as development of culturally informed systems of care. His research on HIV focuses on the intersectionality of race, gender and sexuality, as situated in macro- and micro-level inequities.

“I will contribute my leadership, scientific research and policy expertise in addressing multi-layered structural equalities in prevention and care in underserved communities to advancing NYAM’s mission of promoting health equity,” said Wilton, who also serves as senior research associate at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa,

Fellows with NYAM play a significant role in helping achieve the organization’s mission to ensure everyone can live a healthy life, said Donna Fingerhut, NYAM’s director for the Office of Trustee and Fellowship Affairs, in a letter announcing Wilton’s election. Fellows are top researchers, practitioners and policy makers in their fields, and elected by their peers and given final approval by NYAM’s Board of Trustees after a selective process.

NYAM looks forward to Wilton’s future engagement with program initiatives and events that target structural and cultural barriers to good health to drive progress toward health equality, Fingerhut’s letter said.

Working toward achieving such goals has been a major component of Wilton’s work at Binghamton University in recent years.

In 2021, his contributions to the field of psychology earned him appointments to the American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity (PTFPHE), as well as to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) HIV/AIDS Intra- and Inter-personal Determinants and Behavioral Interventions (HIBI) Study Section at the Center for Scientific Review.

Notably, the PTFPHE was awarded an APA Presidential citation for its work that culminated in a ground-breaking resolution on advancing health equity in psychology for the APA. Its recommendations touched on psychological science, education and training, psychological practice, public policy, and legislative advocacy.

Wilton is also collaborating on a four-year $3.1 million grant funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the NIH, that could help African American and Latinx youth living with HIV. The research aims to highlight issues leading to racial and ethnic inequities in healthcare and promote better engagement along the HIV care continuum among Black and Latinx youth living with HIV.

In addition, Wilton serves on the Yale Scientific Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, which aims to use multi-disciplinary expertise to develop and implement strategies to optimize vaccine rollout while minimizing social inequities in immune coverage.