In this season finale, host Niasha Fray, MA, MSPH returns with Dr. Schenita D. Randolph, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN and Dr. Ragan Johnson, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC — the Nurse Scientists leading the HEEAT Research Lab at Duke University School of Nursing. Together, they explore how Black women, beauty salons, and community-rooted partnerships are transforming nursing science and advancing sexual health equity across North Carolina.

⭐ Top 3 Topics We Explore in This Episode

1. The Power of Beauty Salons in Community-Centered Nursing Science

Why salons remain trusted places for connection, truth-telling, and health conversations — and how the HEEAT Lab partners with stylists without adding burden, extracting labor, or disrupting culture.

2. UPDOs Protective Styles: A Culturally Grounded HIV Prevention Model for Black Women

How this community-informed intervention works, what stylists are already doing as advocates, the role of choice and autonomy, and how eligible NC salons can join the UPDOs study.

3. Freedom, Trust & Doing IT for Ourselves

A candid conversation about self-protection, sexual health freedom, and why Black women deserve access to tools and information that don’t depend on someone else’s honesty, disclosure, or behavior.

🔗 Learn More or Get Involved

HEEAT Lab https://www.theheeatlab.org

UPDOs Protective Styles Study Now enrolling high-volume, well-established salons in: Cumberland, Wake, Durham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Mecklenburg counties https://www.theheeatlab.org/updos 📧 updos@duke.edu

📣 Partner With Us in 2026

Season 5 arrives next year — with new guests, new conversations, and opportunities for business owners, organizations, and mission-aligned leaders to sponsor a series or co-create impact.

📧 niashafrayconsultingllc@gmail.com