Dr. Cheedy Jaja is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. His interest in social justice, health disparities, and improving health outcomes for historically marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as those with sickle cell disease (SCD), drives his research, clinical, and advocacy initiatives. As a clinician and health science researcher, he noticed with dismay the unsettlingly high under-five mortality rates associated with SCD in sub-Saharan Africa even though standard public-health care packages, including pre-test counseling and carriers for sickle cell hemoglobinopathy, are available and in use in middle-and high-income countries.  His professional partnerships and research initiatives in the West African nation of Sierra Leone aim to reduce this global health disparity. Additionally, Dr. Jaja is one of only a few nurse scientists prepared to use pharmacogenetics strategies in pharmacotherapy for SCD. In his pioneering research, he has made significant discoveries that are likely to impact how SCD pain is treated. He has received national recognition for his research contributions, as evidenced by being selected as a 2016 NIH Future Research Leader, a 2018 Fulbright Program Scholar, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2020. He enjoys listening to jazz and classical music for leisure.