Mission 

We aim to contribute tobacco, cannabis, and health equity research that elevates the health of vulnerable populations through research practices that prioritize and uplift young voices.  

Vision

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Values 

Social Justice 

The WRG prioritizes social justice and health equity in all research endeavors. We deliberately incorporate elements in all areas possible including but not limited to onboarding materials for new members, choice of research topics, DEI group discussions, and methods for information-sharing with the community. 

Collaboration and Co-Learning 

We pride ourselves in our ability to work with, learn from, and empower each other throughout the research process. We encourage our members to ask questions and seek support when they need it. Not only do we aspire to elevate our knowledge and skills as researchers, but we also hope to grow as individuals during our time on the WRG. We deeply respect each individual's perspectives and provide opportunities for growth through mentorship. Mentorship within the WRG is characterized by transparency, clear expectations, mentorship agreements, and respect for each other. 

Actionable Equity 

We believe the pursuit of achieving health equity is an actionable one, not a passive task. Our team takes intentional steps to ensure that the work we do is beneficial to not only the scientific community at large, but also to the communities with which we work. We do this by emphasizing the importance of reciprocity and the accessibility of our work. We aim to do this by building community with the people whom we learn from and disseminating our findings in a way that is understandable, usable, and contributes to sustainable change within those communities. 

We recognize the varied privileges we hold in our individual identities, and we keep this in mind at all steps of our endeavors. The Watkins Research Group (WRG) intends to utilize our privileges to conduct equitable research and disseminate our findings to help achieve health equity within our most vulnerable populations. 

Just Power-Dynamics 

Our team is comprised of Undergraduates, Masters's students, Ph.D. students, and a PI. We work to remove the hierarchy that academia sets, and we acknowledge that each team member has different skills and life experiences that enrich our work that are not fully captured by educational status.  

Curiosity 

We believe curiosity is a driving force that leads us to do great work. We appreciate out-of-the-box thinkers who contribute to challenging the status quo of what good scientific research “should” look like.