Balls-Berry Lab
Joyce Balls-Berry, PhD
Joyce Balls-Berry is an associate professor of neurology at WashU Medicine and serves as the core leader for the newly established Health Disparities and Equity Core within the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC), directed by John Morris.
Before joining WashU Medicine, Balls-Berry was an assistant professor of epidemiology and a senior associate consultant at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She earned her undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana and completed graduate training at both WashU Medicine and the University of Toledo. She later completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in health equity, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Florida.
Balls-Berry’s research focuses on increasing awareness of the importance of community and patient engagement in research, particularly to advance health equity in minority and under-resourced communities. She recently completed a PCORI-funded project to expand the Minority Women in Research Network, which she founded in 2011. The network supports community-patient engagement in research led by minority women scientists and promotes collaboration, scholarship, innovation and dissemination.
As an educator, Balls-Berry has been recognized with the Mayo Clinic Teacher of the Year award for the Graduate School and the Educator of the Year award for the Center for Clinical and Translational Science — both honors voted on by faculty and students.
She has also shared her personal journey of living with dyslexia and overcoming challenges in a TEDx Talk titled Handling Challenges.
Principal investigator
Our team
Recent publications
- Community engagement studios to improve racial diversity and health equity in Parkinson’sKang, E., Woodhouse, D., Davis, K., Yap, J. Q., Myers, P. S., Campbell, M. C., Hughes, Y. D., Balls-Berry, J. E. & Foster, E. R., Sep 9 2025, In: Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 9, 1, e217.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Walking Interventions and Cognitive Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled TrialsLee, J., West, D., Pellegrini, C., Wei, J., Wilcox, S., Neils-Strunjas, J., Rudisill, A. C., Friedman, D. B., Marquez, D. X., Dzwierzynski, J., Balls-Berry, J., Gajadhar, R. & Yang, C. H., Sep 2025, In: American Journal of Health Promotion. 39, 7, p. 1051-1067 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
- Community engagement, recruitment, and retention of minoritized participants in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia research: A systematic review of disparitiesAssfaw, A. D., Babulal, G. M., Balls-Berry, J., Mozersky, J., Moulder, K. & Morris, J. C., Jul 2025, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 21, 7, e70459.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
- Down syndrome in Africa: Challenges, opportunities, and future directionsMcGlinchey, E., Tewolde, S., He, A., Fortea, J., Mbakile-Mahlanza, L., Tefera, A., Epenge, E., Hassenstab, J., Jäck, A., Ranchod, K., El-Jaafary, S., Levin, J., Salama, M., Rubenstein, E., Akinyemi, R., Akinyemi, T., Farombi, T., Lawlor, B., Ikanga, J. & Ashton, N. J. & 5 others, Stout, S., Balls-Berry, J., Kleinhans, A. V., Maina, R. & Merali, Z., Jun 2025, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 21, 6, e70388.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Erratum: Association of Social Determinants of Health With Genetic Test Request and Completion Rates in Children With Neurologic Disorders (Neurology (2025) 104 5 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000210275.)Cole, J. J., Williams, J. P., Sellitto, A. D., Baratta, L. R., Huecker, J. B., Baldridge, D., Kannampallil, T., Gurnett, C. A. & Balls-Berry, J. E., May 13 2025, In: Neurology. 104, 9, p. e213583Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate