Researcher Lands Prestigious Grant For UC Davis Health

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Gun violence is increasingly recognized as a significant public health crisis. UC Davis Health researcher Dr. Shani Buggs is shown here near the site of the deadly April 2022 mass shooting on K Street. Louis Bryant III, OBSERVER The OBSERVER caught up with a busy Dr. Shani Buggs this week to talk about the new grant to research gun violence and the work that it will fund. Q: In the past, you’ve said funders fund what they’re interested in and what they see as important. Does this grant mean that the needle is moving in the right direction? A: The grant means, particularly for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that they are taking a direct strike, if you will, at addressing systemic racism and dismantling systemic racism – not just addressing it, but dismantling it. They have a history of investing in research programs focused on equity and antiracism. They see the inequity, they see the value in engaging people meaningfully in the research, and people who have been marginalized, tokenized, excluded, and downplayed. They see a real value in bringing in their voices, bringing in their insights and their perspectives, understanding...