Trina Kumodzi

Bio

Dr. Trina Kumodzi is a nurse-scientist whose research examines the impact of structural violence, trauma, and community-level disparities on health outcomes. As a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, she worked with Dr. Therese S. Richmond and Dr. Douglas Wiebe to explore the effects of violence and trauma exposure on individuals and communities using both epidemiological and qualitative approaches.

Her dissertation at the University of Virginia, Violence in St. Kitts and Nevis: A Retrospective Analysis of Homicides 2000–2018, provided one of the first empirical analyses of violence in that context and drew attention to how broader social and historical forces shape health risks in Caribbean settings. Dr. Kumodzi’s academic training and professional practice are rooted in nursing, history, and population health—equipping her to study trauma not just as an individual experience, but as a societal phenomenon shaped by policy, power, and place.

Since August 2021, Dr. Kumodzi has served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, where she continues to advance her research on trauma, healing, and justice-informed care. Her ongoing work emphasizes the need for health systems and public health strategies that recognize the deep-rooted contexts of violence and prioritize community voice in addressing long-term harm.