Monifa Maat: Bridging Health, Art, and Research for Community Healing
How HICCC's Community Science Institute empowers NYC communities through research, education, and inclusive care
When Monifa Maat first saw an advertisement for Columbia’s Community Science Institute (CSI), she was intrigued but hesitant to sign up due to her already full schedule. It wasn’t until her mother decided to join, and encouraged her to do the same, that Maat finally committed. “I truly don’t know if I would have found the time to join without her encouragement,” Maat recalls. “I was reluctant to take on another project, but it ended up being one of the most memorable experiences of my life.”
Maat’s journey into community health began through her love of the performing arts. “I realized I didn’t want to just perform—I wanted to use the arts to help heal and mobilize people,” she says. This led to the creation of CRAVE! (Creative Research using Arts as a Vehicle for Education), an experimental theatrical play focused on health issues primarily affecting communities of color. “CRAVE! aims, through the platform of edutainment, to motivate our communities to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors while addressing historic health inequities, for instance in cancer research and treatment” says Maat. "It's about engaging my community to find solutions through a strong partnership between community, academia, and clinical care."
In addition to her work in the arts, Maat is a certified fitness instructor and author of the book and proprietary fitness system Bed Aerobics Fitness Flow for older adults. Through this, she was inspired to participate in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study with her then-partner, Martin Addo, founder of Southbridge Fitness Center. The study focused on using the fitness center as a site for focus groups of Black men impacted by new colorectal cancer screening recommendations.
Alison Taylor, PhD, at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), assistant professor of pathology and cell biology and Kazeem Abdul, research worker, for a CBPR project centered around colorectal cancer and fitness. Here, she also began working with the HICCC’s Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) office, fostering a close relationship that spans several years. “This team feels like family,” Maat says. Since 2021, she’s collaborated on a range of projects with the team, learning more about their community health initiatives, including the CSI program. At Columbia, Maat partnered with
The CSI program was created to address the need for more community education about cancer clinical trials and to support Colombia's goal of increasing diversity in research. “CSI provides diverse community members with a foundational understanding of cancer clinical trials,” explains Nicole Bayne, COE project manager. “It helps participants grasp research processes and common science terminology.” The program, open to anyone interested, ultimately prepares community members to advocate for themselves or within cancer research teams.
Maat, now a certified “Community Scientist," appreciated the chance to dive deeper into clinical research. “Knowledge is power, and CSI empowers community members by giving them the tools to make informed choices,” she says. Inspired by her experience, Maat has revised CRAVE! to include characters impacted by cancer, delivering powerful messages about lifestyle, health disparities, and the importance of diverse participation in clinical trials. The play is used as an outreach tool to engage diverse audiences through community-based organizations.
Now, Maat has transitioned to a full-time role as a Health Education Manager with the COE, where she continues to educate the community about cancer screenings and healthcare relationships through a variety of initiatives, including CRAVE! She envisions Columbia as a model for community engagement across comprehensive cancer centers. "I want to engage communities most impacted by cancer health disparities," she says. “I want to inspire them to take a seat at the table and be part of the conversation.”
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About the Community Science Institute
The CSI was designed by Mary Beth Terry, PhD (HICCC Associate Director for Population Science and Community Science), Dr. Karen Hubbard (DISRUPT Grant), Nicole Bayne (COE Project Manager) and Desirée Walker (Community Advisory Board member). It is taught by COE Co-Director Parisa Tehranifar, DrPH and Chrystelle Vilfranc, PhD, COE Scientific Director.
It is offered through DISRUPT, a project that brings together multidisciplinary teams from four New York City institutions: Columbia’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI), Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) and The City College of New York (CCNY) to address the lack of diversity in cancer clinical trials.