Donald Brown

Donald Brown specializes in 20th-century African American literature and culture. His forthcoming book will address the Great Migration’s impact on the civil rights movement from the perspective of African Americans in the American South who stayed in their home region. He is also working on a book on Richard Wright.

Alexandria Macmadu

Alexandria “Alex” Macmadu, PhD (she/her) is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology, and she is a member of the People, Place and Health Collective (PPHC) at Brown University.

Dr. Macmadu is a substance use epidemiologist, and her program of research: (1) examines the social determinants of opioid use, opioid use disorder, and overdose; (2) investigates evidence-based approaches to mitigate drug-related harms; and (3) advances justice and health equity in marginalized subgroups, including BIPOC communities, people who use drugs, and persons affected by the criminal legal system. To date, she has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and one book chapter.

In 2021, Dr. Macmadu was awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31-DA052971). As part of this work that funded her dissertation, Dr. Macmadu utilized egocentric network analysis and other methods to interrogate the influence of overdose in social networks on individual overdose risk behaviors and emotional affect.

Dr. Macmadu is a multi-Brown alumna, having received her PhD in epidemiology (’22), her MSc in behavioral and social sciences (’15), and her BA in ethics (’14) from Brown University.