Kristine Durkin
Kristine M. Durkin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research) at Brown University and a Research Scientist at Hasbro Children's Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital. She is a pediatric psychologist whose research focuses on improving adolescent health and well-being through community-engaged research, youth participatory action research (YPAR), and implementation science.
Dr. Durkin's work centers on developing equitable partnerships with adolescents and community organizations to ensure that youth perspectives shape research, intervention development, and decision-making. Through long-standing collaborations with Providence youth and community organizations, she has developed a model for engaging adolescents as co-researchers throughout all phases of the research process, including identifying research priorities, designing studies, collecting and interpreting data, creating intervention content, and disseminating findings to community and policy audiences.
She currently serves as Principal Investigator of an NHLBI K23 Career Development Award (K23HL168806) focused on developing and implementing a community-engaged intervention to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity among adolescents in Providence, Rhode Island. Across this work, adolescents play active leadership roles in co-designing intervention content, implementation strategies, and dissemination activities. Her research seeks not only to improve health behaviors and outcomes, but also to increase opportunities for meaningful youth participation in decisions that affect their lives.
In addition to her community-based research, Dr. Durkin has extensive experience working with children and adolescents living with chronic health conditions, including cystic fibrosis, asthma, and diabetes. Across her research, teaching, and mentorship, she is committed to advancing rigorous, actionable scholarship that bridges research, practice, and community priorities while elevating youth expertise and leadership.