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

Doing IT for Ourselves: Black Women, Salons & the Science of Health Equity

In Episode 3, host Niasha Fray continues the powerful conversation with Dr. Schenita Randolph and Dr. Ragan Johnson, the Nurse Scientists leading The HEEAT Research Lab (Health Disparities through Equity, Empowerment, Advocacy & Trust) at Duke University School of Nursing.

Together, they explore the innovative, community-rooted work that has made The HEEAT Lab a national model for equity-driven nursing science, including:

• Establishing Safe Cultures in Greensboro — a growing movement to advance safety, trust, and healing through community collaboration.
• The Science of Soul, a dynamic symposium uplifting Black women, family health, cultural wellness, and the power of story-informed science.
• UPDOs Protective Styles, their community-designed approach to HIV prevention that engages Black salon owners and stylists as trusted voices, honoring the lived experience and leadership of Black women across North Carolina.

This episode highlights what becomes possible when Black women direct the science, shape the research agenda, and build solutions rooted in culture, community wisdom, and collective care.

🎧 Perfect for listeners interested in: Black women’s leadership · community-engaged nursing science · health equity · HIV prevention · culturally grounded research · equity-centered partnerships · salon-based interventions · community advisory councils

🌐 Learn more about UPDOs or explore involvement opportunities: theheeatlab.org/updos

Doing IT for Ourselves — Episode 2: Leading the Science of Health Equity, Together

In Episode 2 of Doing IT for Ourselves: Black Women, Salons & the Science of Health Equity, we follow the continuing impact of Black women who are shaping the future of community-engaged research, racial equity in science, and culturally grounded health innovation.

This conversation builds on the legacy of two powerhouse scholars who are friends of the show and leaders in the field: Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards, featured in Season 4’s No Health, No Wealth, and Dr. Nadine Barrett, featured in Season 2’s Advancing Accurate Representation in Research. Their influential paper — The 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research — continues to guide institutions nationwide in applying a racial equity lens across the entire research process.

Episode 2 brings that conversation forward with Dr. Schenita Randolph and Dr. Ragan Johnson of The HEEAT Lab at Duke University School of Nursing, two nurse scientists whose work embodies community trust, translational science, and real-world impact. Together, we explore why community-led research matters, how beauty salons and trusted social spaces serve as anchors of health equity, and what it takes to move research into practice in ways that honor culture, dignity, and lived experience.

If you're passionate about health equity, Black women in public health, community-engaged research, HIV prevention for Black women, racial equity in research, translational science, or trusted community partnerships, this episode continues a powerful lineage — and points clearly to where we are headed next.

🎧 Listen on RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or directly at NiashaFray.com/podcast