Megan Bennett Irby

Megan Bennett Irby, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest University where she teaches Epidemiology (HES 360) and brings an intentional focus to the study of public health and the roots of health inequity. Dr. Irby has a broad academic background spanning multiple areas of public health. She holds a BS degree in Health & Exercise Science from Wake Forest University; MS degree in Exercise Physiology from UNC-Greensboro; MS degree in Clinical Population & Translational Science from Wake Forest University; PhD in Human Development & Family Studies from UNC-Greensboro, and completed her post-doctoral training in Community-Engaged Research at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

In her former role with Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she conducted research for more than 15 years, Dr. Irby developed and implemented behavioral interventions informed by the lived experiences of patients, particularly related to the management of chronic pain, reducing barriers that hinder access to culturally appropriate care, and improving quality of life among groups experiencing chronic health conditions. Inherent to her work in and outside of the classroom is a dedication to advancing health equity and dismantling sources of systemic oppression by exploring biopsychosocial factors influencing the wellbeing of diverse populations, intervening on social and structural drivers of health that perpetuate disparities, and elevating the voices of historically and traditionally marginalized communities through authentic community engagement.

Dr. Irby is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the on-going Native Pathways to Health project that features authentic partnerships with each of the eight American Indian Tribal communities in North Carolina (funded by the Kate B. Reynold’s Charitable Trust and Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC); co-PI of an NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Core initiative designed to create and implement brain health programs for African Americans; co-PI of Healthy Living Partnerships for Veterans with Migraine (HELP VM) that provides an exercise-based pain education program for military Veterans experiencing chronic migraine (funded by the Salisbury Research Foundation); a leading co-investigator on the IMPACTS (Internet-delivered Management of Pain Among Cancer Treatment Survivors) study (funded by the NIH/NCI/HEAL Initiative); a co-PI on an internet-delivered pain coping skills program for individuals with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (funded by the NIH/NCI’s Community Oncology Research Program), and PI on an NIH/HEAL-funded community-engaged project to develop a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate pain coping skills training program for Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latinx communities. Additionally, Dr. Irby is a recent recipient of a NIH HEAL Initiative Training Award focusing on the neuroscience of pain among diverse populations.

Teaching

• HES 360: Epidemiology

Publications

Research

Dr. Irby is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the on-going Native Pathways to Health project that features authentic partnerships with each of the eight American Indian Tribal communities in North Carolina (funded by the Kate B. Reynold’s Charitable Trust and Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC); co-PI of an NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Core initiative designed to create and implement brain health programs for African Americans; co-PI of Healthy Living Partnerships for Veterans with Migraine (HELP VM) that provides an exercise-based pain education program for military Veterans experiencing chronic migraine (funded by the Salisbury Research Foundation); a leading co-investigator on the IMPACTS (Internet-delivered Management of Pain Among Cancer Treatment Survivors) study (funded by the NIH/NCI/HEAL Initiative); a co-PI on an internet-delivered pain coping skills program for individuals with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (funded by the NIH/NCI’s Community Oncology Research Program), and PI on an NIH/HEAL-funded community-engaged project to develop a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate pain coping skills training program for Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latinx communities. Additionally, Dr. Irby is a recent recipient of a NIH HEAL Initiative Training Award focusing on the neuroscience of pain among diverse populations.