The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded Akilah Dulin Keita, assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences, a 24-month grant through its New Connections program. The grant will allow Keita, who studies health disparities at the Brown Institute for Community Health Promotion, to examine the risk and protective factors for childhood obesity among Southeast Asians. Keita is among a select group of junior investigators to receive a grant through New Connections, a national program designed to introduce new scholars to RWJF and expand the diversity of perspectives that inform the Foundation’s programming. New Connections seeks early to mid-career scholars who are historically underrepresented ethnic or racial minorities, first-generation college graduates, or individuals from low-income communities. “This award will connect me to a network of established experts in research and evaluation related to health and health care,” Keita said, “while providing me with an opportunity to evaluate a program that has far-reaching implications for childhood obesity.”