Chuka Nestor Emezue, PhD ’21
Chuka Nestor Emezue, PhD ’21, is an assistant professor of nursing at Rush University and the John and Helen Kellogg Endowed Faculty Scholar. His research centers on interpersonal violence, mental health and family well-being, with a focus on boys, men and fathers affected by violence. Through equity-focused, community-engaged research, he develops culturally responsive, technology-enhanced interventions that emphasize early prevention, helping youth and families access resources before violence escalates to hospitalization, legal involvement, child welfare intervention or more severe outcomes.
A Sinclair School of Nursing PhD graduate, Emezue completed his doctorate in three years after earning dual master’s degrees in public health and public administration at Mizzou. His dissertation examined dating violence among rural adolescent boys and digital prevention strategies, earning the 2022 New Investigator and Outstanding Dissertation Awards from the Midwest Nursing Research Society.
At Rush, Emezue developed BrotherlyACT, a digital intervention that integrates life-skills coaching, safety planning and help-seeking navigation for Black male youth exposed to firearm violence. He is also co-developing FatherlyACT, a father–child dyadic program designed to reduce the intergenerational impact of domestic and family violence. Through the EMERGE Innova+ions Lab, he leads flagship youth research internships and advisory boards that prepare high school students as community coresearchers and future nurse scientists.
Emezue’s scholarship appears in leading nursing and public health journals. He has also delivered over 100 scholarly presentations and contributed to national conversations through op-eds and media features in the Chicago Tribune, Ms. Magazine, NPR and other outlets. Supported by the National Institutes of Health and major foundations, his work aims to support youth, families and frontline providers while advancing equitable violence prevention and strengthening family health.