I have a front row seat watching my sister’s, Sharon @shaydplace, journey with sickle cell. Today, she’s sharing HER story on the pod. This episode is personal. But I wouldn’t share it if I didn’t think it would help someone in some way. Her resilience and self advocacy are inspiring.

This episode, I’m in conversation with my sister as well as NIH physician scientist, Dr. Nicole Farner, and Professor and biologist, Dr. Fatimah Jackson. We talk about sickle cell - what it is, its origins, and the healing power of plants to help manage symptoms.

It’s a great conversation for anyone, but if you know someone with sickle cell, please share with them.

About My Guests
Dr. Fatimah Jackson
Dr. Fatimah Jackson received her Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from Cornell University. Her doctoral dissertation research was on The Relationship of Certain Genetic Traits to the Incidence and Intensity of Malaria in Liberia, West Africa. She has conducted research on and is particularly interested in: human-plant coevolution and population substructure in peoples of African descent. Trained as a human biologist, Dr. Jackson has published extensively in journals and her research has been funded by multiple organizations. Jackson has taught at Cornell University, University of California - Berkeley, University of Florida, University of Maryland - College Park, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and now at Howard University.

Dr. Nicole Farmer
Dr. Nicole Farmer is currently a Physician Scientist at the NIH Clinical Center and the Acting Section Chief of the Dietary Behaviors and Biopsychosocial Health Section. Dr. Farmer is involved in both community-based and patient research exploring the role of cooking in chronic disease prevention and psychosocial health. Prior to joining the NIH, she was a well-established primary care clinician and routinely engaged her patients in nutrition education through cooking classes.

Dr. Farmer is an alumnus of Howard University College of Medicine, received her internal medicine training from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and held a prior appointment at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. She has also completed fellowship training in Integrative Medicine from University of Arizona and Duke University. In addition, Dr. Farmer was named a Harvard Macy Fellow in 2021 for her work on incorporating humanities into culinary medicine education and research.

Sharon Martin
Mom. Wife. Sister. Friend. Sickle Cell Warrior. At 48 years old, Sharon has learned to thrive with her sickle-beta thalassemia diagnosis.

Sickle Cell Study: Dietary Intake and Dietary Behaviors in Adults With Sickle Cell Disease
About the Study: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05170412
To participate, contact: Nicole.Farmer@nih.gov

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Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera Part Three